Guardian
by CyXandrix
Summary: The world has knocked Hiccup down so many times he doesn't see the point in getting up again, he'd rather just stay down. Its at that point when an unlikely and very unexpected hand reaches down to help him up. Its then that a Guardian appears to save him. Modern HiJack AU. Rated M for Language, Triggers and later chapters. Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there all, so I was browsing Tumblr and I saw a wonderful mini comic thing that inspired me to write this story. This is the first chapter and there will be more to come. Anywho, enjoy ^^**

**Also, trigger warning for this story, if Suicide or self harm is a trigger for you you may want to steer clear. **

Hiccup walked into the brightly lit school bathroom, the florescent lights glaring off the polished linoleum floor; one in the corner of the room flickered, on the verge of going out. The thin teen smirked at the irony of that thought as he stepped into the large corner stall with the handicap rail that some kid had torn from the wall and locked the door behind him. Walking over to the corner he leaned his back against the cold tile and slowly slid into a sitting position. He set het his book bag in-between his knees and unzipped it, removing two bottles; one clear and full of water the other a solid white. Twisting the childproof cap, Hiccup emptied a handful of the little red pills into his palm; he didn't bother to count, after all what did it matter? Tossing them into his mouth like a kid would candy he downed them with a swig from the water bottle.

As Hiccup sat there, giving the aspirin time to spread through his system he found his mind going over everything, checking one last time he hadn't forgotten anything. He'd given his dad a hug goodbye as he left for school, left the apology in his best (and only if truth be told) friend's locker and burnt the various angry letters he'd written to his father over the last few months, he didn't want them to be found after. He'd put on a good show that day, smiling to his father and Astrid, laughing at the stupid jokes made at the lunch table, cheering along with the other kids when their biology professor had announced that she was canceling the midterm in favor of an interactive lab; he'd done so well Astrid had commented on his performance, saying it was good to see him acting more like his old self. Of course that made him feel guilty, but then Hiccup was no stranger to guilt these days, not by a long shot, so what was a little more thrown onto the heaping pile of remorse that tormented his every waking moment?

Hiccup put those thoughts out of his head as he removed the iPod from his pack and started wrestling with the knot that had appeared in his headphone's cord. Soon there wouldn't be any more guilt, no more sadness, no more trying to see the point of…everything and failing, no more going through every day trying to convince everyone (including, no, especially himself) that his life was worth something just to wake up the next day and do it all over again. No, soon all that would be over. Soon he would be able to rest without his traitorous mind replaying every mistake he had ever made in vivid detail. Soon it would be over.

Hiccup felt a sad smile cross his face as he hit play on his iPod and the soft country-esque rock melody started playing. The razor stung as he drew it up his arm, cutting with the vein, but he continued, repeating the motion twice more before leaning back and closing his eyes as the words started.

_I hope you never lose your sense of wonder_

_You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger_

_May you never take one single breath for granted_

Hiccup felt tears stinging the corners of his eyes as the voice in his ears shifted to that of his mothers, singing to him like she had when he was little.

_God forbid love ever leave you empty handed_

_I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean_

_Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens_

They hadn't though, every door had closed on him and none had opened, leaving him stranded and alone in the darkness; now he was making his own door and kicking it in.

_Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance_

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance_

He had, he had so many times and every time he had even the smallest bit of hope the world would dash it, smother it out and leaving him lower than he had been. A sense of peace drifted over Hiccup as he felt his mind slowing; soon all over that would be over.

_I hope you daaaaaaance_

_I hope you dance…_

Darkness.

Jack tossed the hall pass into the trash as soon as he was clear of his 6th hour English class and set his feet for the first floor men's bathroom; from there all he had to do was jimmy open the lock on the window and he was home free. As he walked through the empty hallways he slid his phone from his hoodie pocked and slid it open, fingers typing quickly send sent _got 2 get out of here, u free 2 hang 2day?_ He had barely put the phone into his pocket when it buzzed quietly and he pulled it out again, seeing the name "Sandy" on the screen he slid his finger across the screen and read _You know Jack, one of these days your skipping school is going to catch up with you. Yes I'm free, I'll be seeing you in a bit then?_ Jack shook his head with a small chuckle at his mute friend's texting speed. As he entered the bathroom he started typing _I will nvr get how u can txt so fast in perfect sentences like-_

"Ah shit." Jack cursed as his fingers slipped in his attempt to match Sandy's speed and the phone slid from his grasp, bouncing across the floor and under the wall of the corner stall. Walked over Jack tried the door and found it locked. Feeling slightly awkward he called out.

"Hey, uh, dude? Mind sliding my phone out to me? Is the screen cracked? No, don't tell me, I'll let it be a surprise." He said dryly. After several moments of silence he called again "Hello? Dude in the stall, you there?" Still getting no response Jack drew in an exasperated breath through his knows and was about to let it out when he hesitates, breathing in deeper. He got the usual smells one would expect from a high school bathroom, but overriding that was a coppery, tangy smell that he couldn't quite place though it gave him an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Kneeling down slowly Jack called.

"Hey dude, I'm just grabbing my phone real fast, not trying to peep or en-" Jack's voice caught in his throat and his eyes went wide as his head lowered far enough that he could see under the door of the stall. Sitting there against the wall was a boy about his age with brown hair that hung down to about his shoulders and freckles dotting his face and neck. Jack didn't notice that though, his eyes were drawn to the pool of blood that was slowly spreading from several long gashed in his arm.

"Holy shit holy shit holy shit" Jack repeated as he fought down the panic that was growing in his chest. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself and then took a step back and kicked the door, relief flaring briefly in his chest when the lock gave on the first try and the flimsy panel swung inward. Jack grabbed his phone he dialed 911 as looked down at the deathly pale face of the teen. "Sorry about this, you'll thank me some day I promise."

"911, what's your emergency?"

"There's a guy here, can't be more then like 17, real skinny and, and I think he's trying to kill himself, there's blood all over and his arm's all cut up and-"

"Sir, I'm going to need you to take a deep breath and calm down alright?"

Jack did just that, sucking in a deep breath before letting it out, and while his heart was still hammering, his voice was calmer as he spoke "Alright."

"Good, does he appear to breathing?" Jack looked and saw the faint rise and fall of the boys thins chest under his shirt.

"Yes, but it's really shallow."

"Alright sir, help is on the way, stay on the phone with me until they get there and tell me if his condition changes at all." Jack swallowed and nodded before remembering he was on the phone and said.

"Alright." He wasn't going anywhere.

**There you go! Let me know how much you love me, or hate me, or whatever with a lovely review, they all mean so much you! ^^ See everyone soon ^^ **


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy crap long chapter is long . This one just kept going ang going and going every time I thought I was getting to a good stopping point for the chapter. ANywho, I had a great time writing this one, hope you all enjoy reading it just as much ^^**

Hiccup was sitting up in the hospital bed that he had, to his great surprise and annoyance, woken up in earlier that morning, wired up to a mass of machines that all beeped or booped in a rhythmic symphony that grated on his nerves more and more each minutes he was stuck here. He kept his expression blank as he stared across at his dad who was standing at the foot of his bed staring back at him, same place he'd been standing since the doctor's declared Hiccup well enough for visitor's nearly an hour ago. Several times he had opened his mouth seeming about to say something but each time he had close it and fallen back into the awkward silence that stretched between them. Hiccup certainly wasn't going to offer anything up, he was in no mood for any conversation with his dad, awkward lecturey affairs that they always were, and he was sure this one would be the worst one yet.

Finally after another fifteen minutes of silence and one large fortifying breath, his father spoke. "Look Hiccup, I uh, I know things have been…difficult, since your mom, well-"

Hiccup spoke sharply cutting over his father's halting speech. "Can we not talk about this right now? I'm not really feeling up to it at the moment." Hiccup looked away as he spoke; his fists clenching his sheets subconsciously caused him to wince as his right arm throbbed. The doctor had told him they had sewn up the worst of his 'injuries' and then wrapped his arm in at least ten pounds of gauze and bandaging; despite that and the morphine his right arm still throbbed dully all the time, and no so dully if he ever tried to move use it.

His father looked at him for a moment before nodding, "Alright son, we can talk later." They stared at one another for a long moment before he spoke again, his voice sounding strained and awkward. "I've got to get back to work, I'll be back later, and I'm sure Gobber will want to stop by with me." Hiccup nodded in response, making a vague noise of acceptance, and watched his father's back as he left the room. With a sign Hiccup leaned back against as the mass of pillows the nurse, a young woman who Hiccup felt was far perkier then the situation wanted, had propped him up with before his dad had been shown into the room. He was going to be here for at least the rest of the week if not longer recovering, and they had him on suicide watch; he supposed he understood that but that didn't make it any less aggravating, now he'd have to wait until he was discharged to try again.

His thoughts shifted to the random Good Samaritan, some kid from his school, who had found him and called the police. According to the doctor Hiccup had be 'extremely lucky' if this kid had been even a little slower it 'might have been too late.' Hiccup sighed, he knew the kid was probably doing what he thought was right, but he honestly wished he'd just minded his own business; it would have made things a lot simpler for him. Hiccup groaned softly as his arm gave a particularly painful throb as he leaned father back into his pillows, figuring he might as well get some sleep seeing as there wasn't much else to do here. He had just close his eyes when he heard the doorknob click and the door swing open.

Jack looked down as his phone buzzed, Sandy's name popping up in the notification _You know you're the last person he's going to want to see. From what you said it seemed less like a cry for attention and more like the real thing. _Jack sighed as he looked around the waiting room of Berk Memorial Hospital, shifting in the less then comfortable chair he'd been sitting in for the last couple hours. Looking back to his phone he tapped out _Ya, I doubt he wants to see me. What are the chances that's going to stop me?_ Jack clicked the phone shut and waited exactly seven seconds before getting the response _Hold on, let me call you and answer that. Just be careful Jack, don't push._ Jack smiled at his phone before the happy expression fell from his face as he thought back to the previous day in the school bathroom. The EMTs had told Jack that he'd called just in time and that the guy, Haddock they'd called him, which Jack assumed was a last name, was going to be ok. Still he was a small kid, and there had been a lot of blood on the floor, Jack hadn't been able to help but worry. Jack had spent the rest of the day there at the hospital and had started to complain about leaving when visiting hours were ending. He had actually refused to leave, feeling rather foolish considering he didn't even know the kids first name, until one of the nurses told him that the boy was out of surgery and that he had so many drugs in his system at the moment he wouldn't be waking up any time soon so he'd reluctantly gone home.

First thing the next morning he'd headed straight to the hospital, no thought of school in his head as he sat down in the same chair he now occupied. It had been a good hour after that that an extremely large man sporting a massive red beard had arrived and introduced himself to the receptionist as Stoick Haddock. Jack had been shocked at first, after all Mr. Haddock was huge and his son was, well, not; it looked like the two shared about as much blood as Jack did with his own adoptive father. It had been a bit over an hour now since a nurse had informed the man his son was awake (not that Jack had been eavesdropping or anything), so now he was just waiting for his to return. He jumped in surprise as his ring tone sounded form his pocket; glancing at his phone he saw 'As(s)ter' on the screen accompanied with a picture of a tanned fist with middle finger standing tall.

Sliding the answer bar across the screen he brought the phone to his ear "Hey, whats up?"

"Mum knows ya skipped school taday." Said a thick Aussie accent from the other end of the phone, the voice seemed to be suppressing a laugh.

"Shit, how steamed is she?"

"Well, when she spotted ya walking down the street she was bout ready to putcha in the hospital, what with the last time and all, until she saw ya going into the hospital yerself. Now she's flippin her shit thinkin yer hurt or hooked on somthin, you know how she gets." Jack sighed as he ran a hand over his face; he knew exactly how his adoptive mother could get and knowing her she had already ran through every possible worst case scenario possible.

"You told her not to worry, that I'd always come to her or dad if something was wrong?"

"'Course."

"And did it work?"

"'Course not."

"Of course not." Jack echoed with a sigh, he hadn't wanted to tell his family about what had happened the previous day just yet, but there was no helping it now. As quickly and succinctly as possible Jack told Aster about finding the Haddock boy, getting questioned by the medics, the principal, the police, and spending most of yesterday and now today in the hospital waiting room. When Jack finished he waited for Aster to react in some way, unconsciously holding his breath.

After a moment Aster spoke, his voice slightly cautions. "You alright Jack?"

Jack couldn't help a small smile as he responded "Yes, I'm fine."

Aster's voice was back to normal when he spoke again "Good, only ask cause, well ya know."

"Ya, I know," Jack said, and then added in a slightly quieter voice, "Thanks."

"Any time Frostbite, you know that. So did you plan on telling mom and dad?"

"Of course, I was going to tell them tonight. I just wanted to see him first."

"Why? Did you know 'im?"

"Not really, I mean I'd seen him around school sure, he hangs out with the Hofferson girl a lot, but I honestly didn't even know his name till they told me-still don't know his first name actually. And I'm not really sure why…" Jack said trailing off; He knew why he wanted to be here, needed to be, but it wasn't really a discussion he wanted to get into with Aster at the moment.

"Uh-hu, why don't I believe ya?" Jack sighed, most times he liked how close he and his brother were and how well they knew each other-this was not one of those times.

"I figured it might do him some good to have someone here, you know, a friend." Jack said, letting some sarcasm tint his voice as he spoke.

"Yer planning on being his friend? Dontcha think the poor boys suffered enough?"

"Oh hardy har har." Jack said, his voice dry. He was about to deliver a sharp comeback when he saw the hulking form of Mr. Haddock emerge from the hallway. "Hey, I got to go, tell mom I'm fine and I'll explain everything when I get home tonight."

"Alright, I'll do my best."

"Thanks, bye Cottontail."

"Bye Frostbite."

Slipping his phone into his pocket Jack stood and walked cautiously over toward Mr. Haddock, trying not to let the man's size intimidate him. Jack waited at a respectful distance until Mr. Haddock was done speaking with the receptionist, his voice too low for Jack in hear, and then approached, raising a hand in greeting.

"Uh, Mr. Haddock?" Jack said questioningly. It took the large man a moment to respond, and when he did he looked Jack up and down before responding.

"Yes, what c'n I do for you son?" He answered in an accent that Jack couldn't quite place.

"Hi, My name is Jack, Jack Frost and-" Jack said, extending his hand which Mr. Haddock took and was about to shake when he stopped and looked at Jack.

"Frost…your tha boy who, eh, found…" He faltered, waving a large had at least as large as Jack's face in search of the right words.

Jack spared him the trouble my nodding and saying "Ya."

Mr. Haddock nodded as well and shook Jack's hand firmly, his grip even stronger then Jack's own father, which was saying something. "Thank you, I don't know how t' repay you."

Jack waved his hand quickly smiled "Anyone would've done the same thing." He said before pressing one. "How is he?" Mr. Haddock let out a sigh as he leaned back slightly, towering over Jack even more now, before speaking.

"He's awake. Tha doctors say he will be fine with some rest." A little wash of relief flared in Jack at the news and he quickly asked his next question.

"Would it be alright if I saw him?" Jack said and then quailed slightly at the appraising look the incredibly large and intimidating man in front of him leveled at him.

He did his best not to fidget and to hold the larger man's gaze until, after several long moments Mr. Haddock said "I don't see why that would be a problem. He's in room 109 down that way." He said, gesturing down the hall he had just recently emerged from "Now, if you'll excuse me I've got to get back to the plant. Glad to meet you Jack."

"You too Mr. Haddock, and thank you." Jack said with a smile, accepting another finger crushing handshake before the large man turned and headed for the entrance. Jack himself turned and headed down the hall. He stopped outside the door marked 109, took a deep breath, and turned the knob.

Hiccup didn't bother to open his eyes as he let out an exasperated sigh, clearly his dad didn't get the whole 'don't want to talk' thing. At the sound of the closing door Hiccup spoke, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice "Ya, still not in the mood." He started as a voice that was light, interested, and clearly not his father's responded.

"Not in the mood for what?" Hiccup opened his eyes and tried to sit up, scrunching his eyes closed and gritting his teeth as another wave of pain flared from his arm, he'd have to ask the nurse for more morphine. As he slowly settled himself into a sitting position and pried his eyes open, blinking away the slight moister that had formed in the corners, he was met by a very unexpected sight. There, lounging in of the chairs against the far wall of his room and looking for all the world like he owned it, was a young man no older then himself. He was taller than Hiccup be about a head and just as thing if not thinner, his dark blue hoodie hung loosely on his thin shoulder and his khaki pants clung to his legs like they were painted on. The most unique feature of the boy had to be the shock of messy white hair that fell haphazardly about his face, bangs stopping just above a pair of piercingly blue eyes the color of a frozen pond. A close second had to be a pair of those toe-shoe things Hiccup had seen around on occasion. A look of concern spread across his face and he sat up slightly at Hiccup's wince and he asked "Are you alright?"

"Ya, fine." Hiccup said doing his best to keep the confusion off his face, an impressive feat considering the complete stranger sitting in his room and looking honestly concerned about him. "Uh, don't take this the wrong way but, who on earth are you and what the hell are you doing in my hospital room?" Hiccup wasn't sure what he had expected in response to his question, but it certainly was not for this far too happy intruder to break into a broad smile, laugh, and jump up to take a sweeping bow.

"Jack Frost, at your service." With that he flopped back into the chair and turned so he lay across is sideways. There was a low buzz from his pocket, which he removed a phone from, read the message with a slight frown and started tapping out a response. All the while Hiccup just stared, trying to figure out that Jack was doing here. He knew the name, he had heard it announced over the schools intercom often enough, usually accompanied with a 'please come to the principal's office' but he couldn't remember seeing Jack around school much, not that he paid much attention to most of the kids at his school, but he couldn't remember having a single class with Jack and had certainly never spoken with him. So what was he doing here, how had he even know Hiccup was in the hospital? Astrid was the only person he had expected to know or care and she hadn't even been to see him yet (he was dreading that visit and the chewing out that would likely accompany it). The only explanation Hiccup could come up with was that that news of his…incident…had already spread over the entire school. That idea certainly was not comforting, it would likely mean funny looks, some shallow sympathy from a bunch of people who'd never spoken to him before, and just attention in general, something Hiccup was not exactly fond of to say the least- If he had the choice between a leading role or a stage hand he'd choose being at home.

His voice exasperated Hiccup asked "Has news really spread that fast?"

"Umm…what?" Jack said with a small laugh in his voice, looking at Hiccup in confusion.

"Well I figured the whole school must be talking about it, how else would you know about it? Still doesn't explain what you're actually doing here." Hiccup said, partially to Jack and partially to himself, his voice turning into an accusation at the end. Jack's expression fell slightly as Hiccup's words and he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, looking away from Hiccup as he spoke.

"No, well I mean I haven't been at school today but I doubt anyone really has any details yet. No, I was, uh, I…" Jack's speech was hesitant as his eyes raised to watch Hiccup cautiously, his face still pointed away. "I was the one who, uh, found you." Hiccup froze as Jack looked up at him slowly, gauging his reaction; his mind seemed to have stopped working, the normally active and agile organ suddenly stuttering and slow. More than a little of Hiccup was suddenly angry with Jack, after all who's asked him to come and stick his nose in something that was none of his business.

After a moment Hiccup was able to manage a lame "Oh…" before slipping into silence again.

"You don't have to thank me." Jack said, the sincerity in his voice was the only thing that kept the venom out of Hiccup's reply.

"I wasn't planning on it." He said, his voice flat instead.

"I didn't think you were, just didn't want you feeling obligated to or anything." Jack said, and there again was the honest sincerity as he gave Hiccup a small smile.

"Ah, well thanks then-for that I mean." Hiccup said, earning him a wide smile and a small laugh from the lanky teen across from him and damn it if he couldn't help a small smile himself. There was something about this Jack guy… "Well," he said, his voice more than a little sarcastic "third times the charm; what are you doing in my hospital room? No long thought out plans to get in the way of today?"

Jack winced slightly as Hiccup's remark before saying "Friendly concern?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced, Jack chuckled. "I'm not exactly new to this whole… thing, and I know it can be nice to have someone around to talk to that understand that, _no_ you don't want to talk about it thanks." Jack said, his voice taking on a patronizing tone at the end like he was talking to a nosy visitor. "Oh, and that reminds me, I don't actually know who you are, er, exactly…your name that is." His tone became a bit awkward at the end.

"Hmh, my name is Hiccup." Hiccup leaned back and examined Jack, trying to decide if he believed him or not. He couldn't think of any reason Jack would lie to him, and to be honest it might be nice to have some company other than his thoughts for a while. "Alright Frost, I suppose you can stay." Hiccup's neutral expression cracked into a small smile as Jack gave an extremely over exaggerated expression of joy, bringing one had flat against both his cheeks. Hiccup snorted and rolled his eyes for the first, but certainly not last time that day.

Hiccup had always been pretty good at reading people, it was a skill one developed when you spent most of your time in the background watching others, but he could not for the life of him read Jack. As far as Hiccup could tell he was just a goofy kid who though he'd like some company but come on, that couldn't be the end of it, could it? Hiccup had learned the hard way that any time someone was friendly to him, there was some sort of ulterior motive, something they wanted from him; the one exception to that rule had been Astrid, but this was completely different. Jack did most of the talking, lounging in the chair he had claimed as his domain in the small room, while Hiccup just listened and tried to work out just what was in this for Jack.

After a brief pause Hiccup said "I've seen you around school before, but I don't remember ever taking classes with you, of did you just skip them all?" Jack chuckled and started talking about his classes. It turned out that they had a lot of the same classes, just not in the same hours. Hiccup was in more advanced Math and English classes then Jack and Jack was taking a gym class that Hiccup wasn't but other than that their schedules were pretty similar. After nearly two solid hours of talking Jack's jaw finally seemed to get tired because he grabbed the remote to the small TV mounted on the corner of the ceiling and flipped it on. _This week on Teen Mom_-

"Would you-"

"Is it alright-"

Both boys stopped, having spoken at the same time, and looked at each other expectantly. After several second of silence Jack said "Please tell me you weren't about to ask me to leave this?"

The combination of the comment and the cautiously incredulous look on Jack's face struck Hiccup as funny and he found himself laughing, really laughing, for the first time in he couldn't even remember. "N-N-No," He laughed out "go ahead and change it."

"Oh good," Jack said as he began flipping through channels "I was worried for your taste in TV for a second there."

They passed another two hours with a lengthy discussion about their favorite TV shows, movies, and books (Jack's impassioned arguments that comic books _were_ books finally won out over Hiccup's objections). Hiccup was surprised to learn just how much he and Jack had in common; they both loved fantasy though Hiccup preferred High Fantasy, if it had dragon's in it he'd probably read it, while Jack liked more modern fantasy. They both enjoyed super heroes and spent an enjoyable while debating the merits of various heroes and villains, their powers and inevitably what power they would want (Jack said flying, Hiccup invisibility). During that time a nurse came into the room to change Hiccup's IV, check his vitals and just generally check up on him.

Not long after that their conversation was interrupted by a low rumble, Hiccup looked away blushing as he brought his good hand to his rumbling stomach.

"Sounds like someone's hungry!" Jack said with a chuckle as he stood and stretched, his shirt riding up slightly to expose a flat stomach, not that Hiccup was looking. "How bout I go see if I can find something for lunch?"

"You don't have to, I'm not that hungry." Hiccup said his eyes trailing to the floor, a slight blush coloring his cheeks as his stomach contradicted him with another low growl.

"Haha, sure you're not," Jack said with a chuckle "I'll be back in a bit." With that he crossed the room and opened the door, giving Hiccup one more smile before the door closed behind him. Hiccup was left sitting there, feeling oddly light and thinking how very unexpected this day had turned out so far.

As Jack pulled the door shut behind him he pulled the phone from his pocket, wincing at he saw eleven missed calls and fifteen new messages; he had expected as much, he'd silenced his phone for just this reason, but he still felt bad worrying his mom so much. Scrolling to the top of the list he started reading.

_Mom: Hey sweetie, how's school?_

_Mom: Can you call me between classes?_

_Mom: Alright I know you skipped school Jack, please call me. _

_Mom: Ignoring me isn't going to make this better for you._

_Mom: If you're not going to answer your phone I don't see the purpose of you having one._

_Mom: In case you didn't get it, that's was a threat. _

_Sandy: Jack, your mom has text me three times looking for you, call her._

_Mom: Jack I need to talk to you NOW!_

_Mom: If you don't answer this next call I'm coming to find you._

_Aster: Dude, moms pissed, like I hvnt seen her this steamed since dad forgot valentine's day. She says shes coming to find you, don't worry I took her keys._

_Mom: My keys are missing, pretty sure Aster took them, don't think I don't know that was you're doing young man. You had better hope you call me before two or there will be hell to pay._

_Sandy: She just called me, she sounds worried. Also she called me like she expected an answer… call her would you?_

_Aster: Alright Jack, she's digging through my room for her keys now, please call her. Preferably before she gets to the top drawer…_

_Aster: Well too late, thanks for that…_

_Mom: You better have a damn good reason that I shouldn't kill you when you get home. _

Jack covered his eyes and sighed as he read the last of the messages, dragging his hand across his face in exasperation. Taking a deep breath he scrolled to him mother's contact and hit dial, waiting for the call to connect as he scanned the various signs adorning the hallway walls, looking for some indication which way the cafeteria was. His phone rang exactly .3 times before it picked up and a shrill voice was speaking.

"You'd better have a damn good explanation for skipping school to go to the hospital and then _ignoring me_ when I try and get ahold of you. I mean seriously Jack, that's why you _have_ a phone! Do you have any idea how worried I've been, I tried Sandy and he couldn't tell me anything and you weren't answering me!" When she finally stopped to draw in a breath Jack took the opportunity to cut in, knowing he wouldn't get another any time soon.

"I'm really sorry Mom, I didn't mean to ignore you, I was just in the middle of something here so I turned my phone off so it wou-" Jack's words seemed to jolt his mother's memory because she spoke over him then, talking so fast she would have lost any ordinary listener, Jack was used to the speed though and caught every word.

"Oh ya! What on earth were you doing at the hospital sweety? Are you hurt, were you doing _it_ again because-"

"No Mom, I promise that's not it." Jack said, cutting his mother off before she could go down that particular line of conversation. Before he could say anything else though she was off again.

"Is it drugs, because if it is Jack we-" Jack cut her off again, he knew she would assume a worst case scenario like this.

"No Mom I-"

"Are you worried you caught something? Jack we talked about being safe, I thought you-"

"Ugh! MOM! No, god no, would you just listen for a second?!" Jack said, his voice rising in exasperation. He certainly had talked with his mother _at length_ about 'being safe' and he had absolutely _no_ desire to relive what he held as the most uncomfortable two hours (two freaking _hours_) of his life. "There's this guy wh-"Jack was about to start explaining when his mom went off again.

"A _guy?_ You ignored me for a _guy!_ If you're ignoring me for a guy it better be George Clooney and you'd best be warming him up for _me!_"

"Mom!" Jack said, suppressing a chuckle "Listening means not talking for more than five seconds." Jack waited to see that the silence from the phone would last before starting again "There's this guy, he's here because…" and Jack gave his mother the same explanation as he'd given Aster, waiting for her reaction with baited breath as he finished. She was quiet for so long that Jack checked the phone twice to see if the call had dropped and was about to say something when she finally spoke.

"Are you alright Jack?"

"Yes mom, I'm fine." Jack said, smiling as he spoke. A smile was evident in his mother's voice as well when she next spoke.

"Well, I'm glad you're there then Jack. Be safe and be home before curfew."

"Yes mom, I will be."

"Good, and don't think you're not in trouble for skipping class still." Said in a teasing tone. "I love you Jack."

"I love you too mom, I'll call you when I'm heading home." With that Jack hung up the phone and, after tapping out quick apologies to Aster and Sandy, slipped the phone back in his pocket. A smile still painted on his face Jack redoubled his efforts in locating the cafeteria; after all, he had lunch to find.

Hiccup sat on his bed, his brain once again pondering the curious phenomenon that was Jack Frost. While plenty revealing of Jack's admittedly good taste in entertainment, their surprisingly easy and long conversation had given no insight into what was in the visit for Jack, and there _had_ to be something. Still, when they had been talking Jack had seemed so at ease, he'd seemed content to just enjoy the conversation and lounge in his chair. Those thoughts quickly brought just _how_ easy their conversation had been to the forefront of Hiccup's mind. Hiccup was not a social person, he was good as faking if briefly when required but he was actually quite awkward around new people stuttering and pausing and wishing for the conversation to be over, and yet with Jack that wasn't the case he just….talked.

Hiccup's internal musings were interrupted about twenty minutes after Jack left by the clicking of the door.

"That was quick, any trouble finding the-ow-oof!" Hiccup started speaking but stopped as not Jack, but Astrid, walked into the room. His speech was further interrupted as she rushed at him; the hard punch to his shoulder he had expected, the uncomfortably tight hug that followed, not so much.

Wincing as his arm was jostled Hiccup said "Hey Astrid, shouldn't you be in school?"

"I left early, couldn't really concentrate so I told the nurse I felt sick and came here." She said, pulling away and fixing a surprisingly cold look on Hiccup.

Quailing under her glare Hiccup said "There's some wonderful irony there if you think about it for a-" He said in an attempt to break the unusual tension when Astrid cut him off.

"What the hell were you thinking? How could you do something like this Hiccup! I thought you were smarter than pulling something so incredibly _stupid_ I mean, what were you hoping to accomplish?" Hiccup felt his face fall into a blank mask as Astrid started berating him, all the thoughts that had been pushed form his mind flooding back to the forefront, demanding attention. He didn't know how to answer, he didn't want to answer, he didn't want to think about it; thinking about it was what lead to his current situation. "I th-ahg what the hell?! Let go of me I swear I'll-" Hiccup stared dumbfounded as Astrid was pulled backwards, the abrupt movement revealing Jack, his face hard with anger and his fist clapped firmly around Astrid's ponytail as he pulled her from the room. Hiccup couldn't bring himself to do more than stare like an idiot at the plain wood door as it slammed shut, taking Jack and Astrid from his view. He waited for…what? Shouting? An alarm of some sort? Jack's unconscious body to come flying through the door?

Hiccup wasn't sure what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't Jack and Astrid to come walking calmly back into the room, bones intact, teeth all in place and face's unbruised. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Astrid spoke. "So, how are you feeling Hiccup?" Hiccup could only stare, looking back and forth between the blond girl before him and the white haired boy currently busying himself over several plastic food trays that had been forgotten in…whatever that was, still to shocked to respond.

After a long moment Hiccup said "Hungry actually, you?"

"Ah, well that won't be a problem much longer," said a rather pleased looking Jack as he turned around with a large try filled with at least six different kinds of food from chicken to lasagna to a fruit-cup "I didn't know what you like, so I kinda just some of everything." He said, looking slightly abashed.

"It looks great." Hiccup said as Jack placed to food in front of him, smiling up in thanks. He tried to remember the last time he ate anything as he unwrapped the plastic spork and single obligatory napkin; the last time he remembered eating was dinner two days ago, the mere though making him even hungrier. Finally extricating his spork from its plastic prison Hiccup set into the lasagna with gusto, downing three bites before he even fully tasted, much less chewed, it.

All in all Hiccup had to admit the food wasn't that great, he'd had far worse in his school cafeteria or anything that his father cooked whenever the urge took him, which was mercifully infrequent, but he had also had far better, he knew he could cook most of the food better than this himself. Still, he was starving and he finished off everything Jack had brought for him and a portion of the meal Jack had bought for himself to. Finally putting down his spork Hiccup muffled a burp as he lay back against the pillows that propped him up, feeling full and content.

"Hey Hiccup, look!" Jack said with a grin. When Hiccup looked over to him he said "Da da da da da da da da da da da da da SPORKMAN!" he sang, holding up his spork at the end, off which he had broken the middle two prongs, with what Hiccup could only describe as pride. Hiccup let out an unwilling laugh even as he covered his face with a hand.

"I cannot believe you went there." Hiccup said with a fake moan.

"You have no idea how far I might go." Jack said with a wink. Hiccup's stomach gave a strange littleflip and he wondered if perhaps it wasn't the best idea to eat that second burger.

Lunch taken care of the Jack started talking about how terrible to food had been and Hiccup joined in his lamenting, adding his own observations when appropriate. Before long they were talking about recipes and their favorite foods, Astrid joining in the conversation after a few minutes of sitting in silence. The topic of conversation shifted from food (smoked salmon for Hiccup, Tacos for Jack and Pasta for Astrid) to favorite desserts (Chocolate mousse, Apple-pie and lemon ice respectively), and through a dozen other subjects as the conversation went on. Hiccup was shocked when the nurse came in tall Jack and Astrid that visiting hours were over, the time had goner faster than Hiccup could remember it going in months.

"I hope you feel better soon Hiccup." Astrid said as she walked over and gave him a brief hug.

"Ya, feel better Hiccup, try not to get food poising." Jack said with a grin as he pulled an aggrieved face that made Hiccup chuckle. He walked over to Hiccup and Hiccup made to hold out his arm for a handshake or a high five or a fist-bump or whatever. Instead Jack ducked down and wrapped his arms around Hiccup's shoulder's squeezing briefly before withdrawing and heading toward where Astrid and the nurse waited, turning and waving to a frozen Hiccup who barely managed to smile back before the two were ushered out of the room. Hiccup sat there for quite some time, staring at the door, his only though that he very much hoped this would not be the last time he'd see Jack frost.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, his father came back around eight, bringing with him Hiccup's backpack which he said the school had asked he pick up. They sat uncomfortably for a while, he asked how Hiccup's day had been and Hiccup answered fine (which was true for a change), gave well wishes as well as an apology and promise to visit soon from Gobber and wished Hiccup a goodnight before heading out. That left Hiccup with just his thoughts for company, and they didn't make very good company these days. Hiccup let out a sigh as he laid back in his pillows, preparing to attempt to sleep, a prospect that seemed highly unlikely. What with the unfamiliar surroundings, the constantly beeping machines, and the thoughts that had been kept at by all day but were not back full force. This was going to be a long night.

**There you have it, not much to say sept hope you liked it ^^ Let me know how much you liked it with a review cause I live off those thing ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, first off sorry this took soooo long, the chapter kinda got away with me and I've been dealing with some real life drama that kinda killed my will to write for a bit -_- if its any consolation, this chapter is the longest single things I've ever written by double! No joke. I honestly probably should have broken it into at least two chapters but by the time I can to that realization I was half way through editing it -_- I way underestimated how much time it would take to do each of the scenes I'd envisioned for this chapter (this isn't even all of them, I originally had three more really big ones that I moved to chapter 4 now). Anyway, enough of my apologies, on to the chapter! ^^**

The atmosphere in the hallway outside was heavy and awkward as Jack and Astrid left Hiccup's room, though he supposed it was to be expected considering the last time they'd been alone in this hallway. Jack admitted to himself that he may have overreacted slightly when he walked into the Hofferson girl shouting at Hiccup, not that he would have done much differently either way, and he was glad he'd trusted his instincts and ducked when he'd finally gotten her out into the hallway because she did take a couple swings at him. Now he half expected her to take another as she rounded on him, a fiery gleam in her eyes.

"Alright Frost, I don't know what your game is but you're going to tell me. Now." She accentuated her point by jamming Jack in the chest with her finger far harder than he felt was strictly necessary.

"What do you mean game?" Jack said, confusion and slight exasperation creeping into his voice, seriously why did everyone seem to think he had some secrete agenda?

"With Hiccup. As I'm sure you realize, he's in a bad place right now. If you're honestly here as a friend then good," Astrid hesitated for a moment, like she was deciding whether or not to continue before pressing on. "I haven't seen him as genuinely happy as he was today in months."

Jack suppressed a smirk at the comment, feeling this wasn't the best time to be breaking into a smile, and said , "Honestly, there's no 'game', I just understand…" Jack's words drifted off for a moment as his thoughts shifted to less pleasant subjects before he jerked them back to attention. "I thought he could use a friend-not that you're a bad friend, I just meant-" Jack stopped and held his hands up soothingly as he started over "I'm not playing any game, I swear."

"Good." Astrid said with a pleasant smile. Her face shifted to one of fiery determination as she closed in so her face was on inch from Jack's. "Because if you _are_ playing games with him, if Hiccup gets hurt, I will personally hunt you down, beat you within an inch if your life, and strangle you with your own nutsack, got it?" With that she spun on her heel and strutted down the hall, through the waiting room, and out of Jack's sight. The only thought he had as he watched that blond hair walking away was complete certainty that she would make good on her threat. It didn't bother Jack though, after all he didn't have any intentions of hurting Hiccup. He just wanted to be a friend so someone who needed it, 'pay if forward' as they said.

The sun had set and a light wind, still warm but with the promise of cooler temperatures soon, blew through Jack's hair as he walked up to the large gate and waved to the guard in the gate house, a giant man with so much hair Jack couldn't see any skin on what little of him wasn't covered by his uniform. He said something in an incredibly think Russian accent that Jack recognized as 'Hello'

"Hey Phil, Mom and Dad home?" The large man nodded an affirmative and Jack sighed before waving. "Alright, thanks. Have a good night Phil." He waited while Phil opened the gate wide enough for him to walk through then set off up the long driveway to his house. Even after living here for nearly five years Jack sometimes still had a moment of disconnect as he walked up to the massive four story house complete with four car garage and a literal tower that sprouted from the center of the four wings that made of the bulk of the structure. When he'd first been adopted he'd been dumbfounded by the house, it was so much bigger than anywhere he'd ever been short of a hotel (it had four separate wings for crying out loud); that wasn't what had really amazed him however, no, the truly amazing thing about his house was the special touches his adoptive father had built into it, himself (he was always sure to tell everyone he met that little detail). For example, the dozens of tubes that sprouted from the central tower, each leading to a different wing.

Jack checked his phone and winced at the time- 10:42. The hospital was an hour walk from his house and he'd honestly lost track of time, still, he was only twelve minutes late for curfew and he had a good excuse, hopefully his mom wouldn't be to angry…at least about the curfew. As he eased open the front door Jack was relived to not find his mom standing there waiting for him as he had expected. Walking on his tip-toes for no practial reason, except that's what people did then they were trying to be sneaky, Jack turned toward his room, well his wing really.

"Your mother is waiting for you in the kitchen." Jack jumped half a foot in the air and brought a hand to his chest as a smooth voice sounded from behind him. It had been completely silent and Jack had been quite sure he was alone, so his shock was understandable, and so was his annoyance, as he spun to face the tall dark and more than a little creepy figure of his brother's long term boyfriend, Kozmotiz Pitchiner Black. He was tall, nearly a head taller than Jack, and just as thin, giving him a stretched, slightly skeletal appearance with skin so pale it was practically begging for sunlight, not that Jack could really talk in that department.

"Gah! Pitch!" Jack shouted as he came to a stop.

"Good evening Jack." Pitch spoke calmly, his voice pleasant as a small smile played on his thin lips.

"Have you been standing there waiting for me to get home?" Jack asked, his voice slightly higher than usual, his heart was still hammering in his chest.

"Despite what you may think Jack, I have far better things to do with my time then sit in the foyer awaiting your return."

"What _were_ you doing here then?"

"I was heading to the office if you must know, I've got court in the morning and there are some last minutes things to be put in place, not that it's your concern." Pitch said as he moved past Jack, grabbing the long black trench coat he wore no matter the weather (who wears a trench coat these days, seriously?). He continued before Jack could respond "Your mother was in quite the state this morning, convincing herself there was something terrible wrong with you. Well, more terrible wrong then usual of course."

"Ha ha" Jack gave a dry fake laugh.

"I offered to speak with a friend and have you committed."

"How generous of you." Jack's voice dripped in sarcasm as he spoke.

"It's my curse." Pitch said as if agreeing with Jack. His hand was on the doorknob when Jack suddenly spoke.

"If you see Aster before me, tell him thanks for his help with mom today."

"While I'm not sure how you expect I would know whether you've seen Aster yet, I'll deliver your message." Pitch turned to leave when he stopped and looked back as Jack "Oh that's right, I have you to thank for you mother foraging through our possessions today. I'll be paying you back for that."

"Oh yeah, sorry bout that." Jack said, then, remembering something from Aster's text he asked "What was in the top drawer anyway?"

"The present you gave Aster for his last birthday."

It took Jack a moment to remember what that was, and then he burst out laughing. He had been 18 at the time of Aster's last birthday and had put his newfound access to certain "adult" shopping venues to full use. Aster had gotten quite a kick out of the gift and the attached note '_for those lonely nights when you've stuck your foot in your mouth yet again._' Pretending to wipe a tear from his eye Jack said "What-what did she say?"

"She informed him that apparently that model is not dish washer safe, a fact you failed to mention when you gifted it." Pitch said as he pulled open the front door.

Jack froze for a moment before giving a little shudder "I did not need to know that."

"Nor did I. Now we can suffer together." Pitch said dryly and was about to step through the open door when another voice sounded from down the hallway opposite the one Jack had been attempting to escape down.

"Oh good yer here, mum was go'n ta send out ta find ya. And where d'ya think yer running off to?" Aster said as he walked into view, his nearly seven foot frame taking up the entirety of the hallway. Messy dark gray-blue (Jack was pretty sure he died it like that, but Aster denied it and he'd been unable to prove it as of yet) hair covered his head, pulled back into a small ponytail in the back, one braided strand falling to the right of his face, a single bead keeping the braid in place. He's skin was tanned, well defined muscles exposed by the tank top and shorts he wore.

"To the office for a bit, I told you alread-" Pitch said, his voice cut off as Aster strode past Jack and, wrapping one arm around his waist, kissed him.

"Now you can leave." He said with a grin, which was answered with an eye roll and a light cuff on the head from the smaller man.

"So abusive!" Aster exclaimed as Pitch stepped back, almost succeeding in hiding a small smile as he walked out the still open door. "Bye love." Aster called after him.

"Bye dear." The door closed behind Pitch with a light click. Turning to Jack Aster opened his mouth to speak when the door opened back up just wide enough for Pitch to stick his head in and say "Oh yes, Jack wishes to extend his gratitude for your assistance with Anna this morning." With that Pitch withdrew from the doorway and it closed once more.

"So are ya tryin ta get mum ta ground ya for life, or did ya just think it'd be fun ta miss curfew?" Aster asked as he turned down the hallway behind Jack, motioning for him to follow as he did so.

"No, I honestly just lost track of time. Didn't leave till the nurse kicked us out and it's a long walk home." Jack said as he fell into step next to Aster, the hallway just big enough for them to walk side by side.

"Us?"

"Ya, Astrid Hofferson stopped by around noon to visit. Started yelling at him, asking what he was thinking, the usual crap."

"Uh-oh. 'n ya didn't send 'er running after that?"

"Nah, she calmed down after I had a little talk with her. Not that I could have scared her off if I'd tried." Jack said with a chuckle "She's kinda scary herself; I don't think her reputation at school is exaggerated."

"Oh?"

"She plays soccer and baseball on the guy's teams, and went all state in wrestling her sophomore year." Jack said matter-of-factly.

"Sounds like my kinda Shelia." Aster said with a wink.

"Ok first, she's like, 18. Besides, if that display back there was anything to judge by you're still happily out of the dating market."

"So?"

"So you're _27_, that's like twice her age!"

"It's far from half Jackie, I thought you were supposed to be good at math."

"You know what I mean, and anyway, you've got Pitch, or have you finally come to your senses?"

"I do, and I'm quite happy with _Koz_ thank you." Aster said said, putting an emphasis on the name. Jack's nickname for Kozmotis always irked Aster, which was the main reason Jack had started using it when his brother had first gotten together with him several years ago and it just kinda stuck.

"And I will never understand how." Jack said, suppressing another chuckle.

"Don't be jealous Jackie, you'll find one a yer own soon enough." Jack was about to fire back a retort (his, admittedly rather nonexistent, dating life was _his_ business thank you very much) but he was stopped as they came to the large double doors that led into their kitchens and Aster spoke again. "Well, this's where we part ways Jackie. Good luck, think I'mna get ta a safe blast radius."

"Ya…thanks." Jack said he started at the door, watching Aster turn and continue down the hall out of the corner of his eye. Taking a deep breath grabbed the knob and, suddenly feeling like he was heading to his final judgment, opened the door.

Jack had always felt that, much like most places in this house, the kitchen was unnecessarily large. Why did you need two fridges, a stove with 12 burners, two sinks, and enough cabinets to provide storage for a small country in a house where half the household's presence in the kitchen constituted a fire code violation? Jack himself was hopeless in the kitchen, he could do cereal and pasta and anything who's instructions included the phrase "add two cups water and microwave for 6 minutes" but not much more. His mother wasn't a terrible cook, as least she hadn't poisoned anyone to his knowledge, when she could focus long enough to not burn anything-which was admittedly a rare occurrence. His father could cook quite well when he actually followed a recipe instead of insisting on experimenting with some new ingredient that more often than not shifted the food from 'palatable' to 'nauseating'.

As Jack entered the large space, lights reflecting off the polished marble counter tops and hardwood floors, he spotted his parents; Nickolas and Anna North. His father stood behind the bar counter wearing his usual red button down shirt, his red suit coat was draped over the back of the chair at the head of the specious dinner table that currently separated Jack from his parents. He was nodding as he listened to his wife, who was sitting across the counter with her back to Jack, his well-trimmed black beard streaked with gray bobbing along with his head. As Jack stepped fully into the room he raised a finger to interrupt his wife before jerking his head toward Jack and pointed at him.

"Jack!" His mom exclaimed when she had spun on her barstool to face Jack. She was wearing her favorite green jacket with a dark purple undershirt, her hair pulled up as it always was, streaks of light blue, bright pink, and dark purple permeating the bright green strands, contrasting wonderfully with her dark skin. Her eyes, so dark blue they were nearly purple, glinted as she jumped from her seat, strode around the table and pulled Jack into a rib cracking embrace, all the air in Jack's lungs wooshing out as he hugged her back; Jack felt a pang of guilt as he realized just how worried his mom must have been. Stepping back after several moments her continence changed dramatically, her hands flew to her hips and her gaze became steely as she stared up at Jack, the nearly foot difference in their height doing nothing to lessen the power of her glare. Jack sucked in a breath and held it, waiting for her to speak- this was the part he'd been dreading. Anna was one of the nicest people Jack had ever met, she cared about everyone and always went out of her way to help others…but god help you if you found yourself on her bad side, Jack had seen her reduce full grown men to tears with one of her infamous tirades.

"How was your day sweety?" She asked, he voice was calm, but bit held an undertone that left no doubt in Jack's mind that his status as a free man for the next few weeks depended solely on what he said next. Several responses, ranging from funny, to ingratiating, to pleading, ran through his head, in the end he decided on the truth.

"It was good." Jack said cautiously, unable to meet his mother's withering gaze.

"Mhm, that's good. How is Hiccup doing?" She asked , turning from Jack and heading toward the large fridge.

"Good actually, surprisingly good, all things consid- wait…how on _earth_ do you know his _name_?"

"She called hospital to be sure boy was real." His dad called from his place by the counter, his words colored by the think Russian accent that he still had even after years of speaking English.

"You didn't…" Jack said incredulously as he looked over at his mom, who's head was conveniently buried in the freezer at that moment. "I'm a really that untrustworthy?" Jack asked, his voice sounding a little hurt.

As that his mom withdrew from the freezer, clutching a frozen drumstick in one hand, and rounded on Jack. Brandishing the ice-cream in a very threatening manner Anna stalked toward Jack. "Oh don't you even try giving me that Mister! You're the one who decided to go to the hospital without even mentioning it to me, or your father, not to mention the fact that you skipped school-_again!_ So I'm sorry if you're offended that a called to confirm your story but I feel I was well within my right as a mother!" With that she stormed past Jack and out the door to the hallway, leaving Jack standing there rather slack jawed, staring at the now closed door.

Jack turned to his dad and was about to say something when Nick pit a finger to his lips and winked before speaking, his voice considerably louder than Jack though was strictly necessary given their proximity and the utter lack of background noise. "So Jack, this Hiccup boy, you say he is doing well?"

"Uh, ya. We had a pretty good time talking, turns out were into a lot of the same stuff…why?" Jack asked, more than a little confused.

Motioning toward the door with his eyebrows Nick continued. "Good, that is good. So, is he cute boy?"

"What? Dad! Why would you even ask th-" Jack started to response, his face going rather red when the door flew open to reveal his mother who strode back into the kitchen, her drumstick now open, several bites missing.

"Oh no! You are not going to do this without me, and don't think I don't know what you're up to!" She said, glaring at Nick who gave an innocent smile. Anna narrowed her eyes once more at Nick before turning to look at Jack with an expectant expression.

"What?" his voice cautious and his expression suspicious.

"Your father asked you a question Jack." She said simply, not taking her eyes off Jack's face.

"Seriously, what is wrong with you? The guy was in the _hospital_, do you really think I'm so desperate that I'm prowling the ICU looking for dates?" Jack loved his parents but sometimes they (and by 'they' he meant his mom) could be absolutely ridiculous. After all, Hiccup had just woken up in the hospital, he was probably surprised that he'd woken up at all, Jack would have to be completely tactless to even entertain any idea like that. Alright, so Hiccup was pretty cute, and they shared a lot of common interests, and his snarky remarks had kept Jack smiling most of the day, and yes that look he got when he really smiled should be illegal, but…where was he going with this again? Oh yea, hospital, that's right... Jack shook his head briefly in an attempt to clear him mind before turning to his parents. "Besides, I don't even know if he'd even be interested."

"And why should he not be? You are fine boy!" Nick said, his voice booming out as it always did.

"Not quite what I meant dad, but thanks." Jack said, hoping he looked less mortified then he felt. Seriously, he could not believe he was having this discussion with his parents about a guy he had just met today, a guy he wasn't even sure himself how he felt about, a guy that, in case anyone had forgotten, was in the freaking hospital!

"Well what is problem the" Nick started to say before Anna leaned over and whispered into his ear "-oh, right." Jack couldn't help but laugh and shake his head slightly. His dad's sometimes almost childlike level innocence and open-mindedness occasionally led to him forgetting things like 'Hiccup might not be gay" and probably wasn't statistically speaking. Coming out to his parents had been one of the easiest experiences of Jack then 15 years, what with Aster having come out as Bi over a decade before and their naturally accepting natures, both Nick and Anna had barley batted the eye, Anna informing him that it didn't excuse him from providing her with grandchildren.

"Could we possibly continue this oh so comfortable conversation later? It's been a pretty exhausting day and I'd like to get some sleep." Jack said, eager to get away now and have some time to work out for himself his thoughts on the brunette boy.

"Alright, we can talk about your punishment instead." Anna said, he voice growing even cheerier then usual as she spoke, an ridiculously smug grin on her face as she looked at Jack from across the room.

"…you know, on second thought I'm good with uncomfortable, let's go back to my love life."

"Oh no, you're far too tired for that! You can get to bed as soon as we've discussed this." Jack sighed as his shoulder's slumped, this was going to be bad he could already tell, his mom was far peppy. "Let see, you lied to me, skipped school, ignored phone calls and missed curfew, quite the list Mr. Frost, how do you plead?"

Jack leaned back against the wall he was standing near and covered his face with a hand. "I'm gonna go with, screwed?"

"Oh good, were on the same page then," she said as Jack heard footsteps approaching, her voice growing louder with each impact "I think it's fair to add another month onto your existing punishment."

"Another _month!_" Jack exclaimed, outraged! He'd only been four days away from finally getting his car back and now it was gone for another month! "That's so not fair!" he protested loudly!

"It's not fair for me to sit home half the day worrying about you either Jack." Anna said, he voice calm but stern. Jack deflated at her words, she was right (as always) even if he wasn't happy about it. He voice growing softer and more understanding Anna continued "You should have just asked Jack, I always tell you to come to me or your father if you ever need anything."

"I'm sorry mom." Jack said, pouring as much contrition and dejection into his voice as he could muster, his attempt at being pitiable having no effect his mother save making her smile a little bigger. He really did feel bad for making her worry, so he took his punishment without (much) complaint. Thinking about what she had said Jack decided he didn't have anything to lose and said "So…could I get your permission to go to the hospital tomorrow?"

"After school?"

"Uh…I was hoping in the morning." Jack said and, seeing the slight frown that appeared on his mom's face, pressed on quickly. "I know I've already missed a day but…I think it would help him to have someone there to talk to, instead of just sitting there thinking all day." Jack held his breath as he watched Anna mull it over, her expression thoughtful, before heaving an overdramatic sigh.

"Oh the things I let you get away with. Alright, you can go tomorrow, I'll get Aster to drive you." She said, the added with a wink "See, I can be reasonable."

"Thanks mom." Jack said as he stepped forward and hugged her.

"You're welcome sweetie, now, go brush your teeth and get to bed."

"Alright," Jack said as he stepped back and opened the door "Night mom, night dad."

"Night dear."

"Goodnight Jack."

Jack was just about to close the door when his mom's voice called from behind him "So he was cute then?"

"Yes!" Jack said sharply, slamming the door behind him the second the word left his lips and heading toward his bedroom. He had the sneaking suspicions that sleep wouldn't be as easy to come by as he hoped.

Hiccup rubbed the sleep from his eyes, a task made more difficult by his lack of a usable right arm, and let out a long slow breath. He was exhausted, every action took more effort than it should have and it was an effort to open his eyelids after each blink. He wanted to sleep some more, but Hiccup had never been able to do that, once he was awake he was awake for the day. Last night had been, as he had predicted, bad. Without the distraction of company his thoughts inevitably drifted down the same paths they'd tread for the last few months and Hiccup found himself thinking about the nurse's response time at three in the morning. Considering he _was _on suicide watch, he imagined it would be pretty quick, unfortunately. So he had lain on his bed, staring blankly out the window and alternating between counting the pairs of headlights that passed by, lightening up the very neutral poke-a-dot pattern on the curtain and wondering just how sturdy the curtain rod was.

He had finally fallen asleep sometime around four am, slipping into a fitful sleep filled with the same dreams that had tormented him every nights since the accident. He'd been woken by a gentle shake on his arm and opened his bleary eyes to see a concerned nurse looked down at him, asking if he was alright; apparently he'd been shouting pretty loud...not that was anything new. He'd assured her he was fine and watched her leave, glancing back at him worriedly as she went. That's when his eyes had fallen on the clock on the bottom of the TV, the small red electronic display read 7:23, which would explain the light pouring into the room through the thin curtain, and his utter exhaustion. He had lain back down, hoping for a few more hours of sleep but to no avail, his conscious mind was had returned to tormenting him, taking the rains back from his subconscious with gusto after its respite. His father had shown up just before eight to check on him, they talked briefly before he had to leave for work, leaving Hiccup once again with only his thoughts for company.

Not long after his father left there was another knock on the door. Assuming it was a nurse Hiccup said "Come in." Not bothering to remove the pillow from where he had placed it over his face in an ultimately futile attempt to get a little more sleep.

He was quite surprised then when the door clicked open and a newly familiar voice said "I'm I interrupting something?" With a small start Hiccup gingerly pushed himself up in bed and pulled the pillow off his face to reveal Jack standing there, in what looked like the exact same clothes he'd been wearing yesterday, a huge bag of fast food in one hand and a drink tray in the other, his near permanent smile even bigger than usual as he held up the food "I thought you'd like some actual food." Hiccup just sat there, feeling surprised, amused, and surprisingly glad, he hadn't realized until right then just how much he had been hoping Jack would come visit again sometime. He stifled a chuckle as Jack placed the enormous bag on the table and started digging through it. "I didn't really know what you liked so I just kinda ran the gambit," he said, pulling out several wrapped sandwiches, a couple longer packages that were probably breakfast burritos, two Styrofoam domes and a fruit cup. "So what'll it be?"

"What is there exactly?

"Sausage egg and cheese, bacon egg and cheese, spicy burrito, not as spicy burrito, extra spicy burrito, burrito with what they say is steak but I wouldn't trust it, hotcakes, hotcakes with bacon and eggs, and fruit." Jack said, pointing to the little bundles one by one.

"Hmm, how bout…the one with the bacon and the not-steak-steak burrito?"

"Really? You know it's not steak right?" Jack looked back at Hiccup as he gathered his choices from the tabletop.

"Yes I believe you mentioned that, but I feel bad for it now." Hiccup fixed Jack with an accusatory stare.

"Ah, well we wouldn't want to hurt our foods feelings would we?" Jack voice was sarcastic as he handed Hiccup the food.

"Remember that in an hour when the flapjack you piss off gives you heartburn." Hiccup ripped the little piece of tape keeping the paper in place and opened his sandwich, he didn't eat fast-food often, preferring to cook for himself and rarely having the money anyway, but this smelled wonderful and he bit off a third of it in one bite. "Mmmmm" he said as he chewed the large bite, the sandwich flooding his mouth with that taste that only fast-food and cooking grease could manage, the one where you knew for a fact your arteries were clogging as you chewed and you couldn't care less.

Jack laughed as he went back to the table "How 'bout to drink? I got orange juice, coffee, decaf and black, milk, one of those smoothie things from TV?"

Hiccup chewed several more times and swallowed before responding "Orange juice sounds really good." Most times Hiccup's options for drinking were skim milk, water or occasionally soda so juice was a bit of a treat. "What about you?" Hiccup asked as Jack handed him the plastic cup, as soon as he had a grip on it he took a big gulp and smiled at the taste.

"Think I'll give this thing a try," jack said, gesturing the orange and red swirled drink that Hiccup remembered seeing on TV "see if it's as good as they say." Hiccup watched as Jack took a sip, contemplated it for a moment and then made a face and stuck his tongue out.

"No good?"

"No, taste like someone make guacamole out of a rotten lemon." Hiccup couldn't help but laugh at the description "Let me try." He said, holding a hand out for the drink which Jack gave him.

"You've been warned."

Hiccup took a sip, it tasted kind of like strawberry but with a mango flavor mixed in. "Oh it's not that bad." Hiccup said, shooting Jack a look that clearly said 'pansy' Jack just grinned and continued to look smug. That when the aftertaste hit "Ugh, I thought this was supposed to be Mango?"

"That is was they said." Jack confirmed.

"They why does it taste like warm bleach?"

"Excellent question."

"Hand me the coffee, I need to get this taste out of my mouth." Hiccup said, trying wipe the taste off on his blanket.

"Which one?"

"I'm fine with either, give me whatever one you don't want."

Grabbing a coffee and bringing it to Hiccup, Jack said "Oh, I don't drink coffee." That surprised Hiccup slightly, he had kind of assumed Jack's energy and peppy nature was at least in some way caffeine fueled, but apparently it was all natural.

"Really?" Hiccup asked as he took a cleansing gulp of the coffee, the flavor overpowering the terrible aftertaste. "So you're saying you're naturally all…" Hiccup finished his sentence by gesturing in Jack's general direction.

"All what?"

"All…that!" Hiccup said, gesturing as Jack again.

"You just gestured to all of me." Jack said, slightly bemused.

"Exactly." Hiccup said with a grin, raising his eyebrows in a challenge. Jack shook his head with a laugh and took a seat in his usual chair. They talked about random things, continued discussions on their favorite TV shows and movies, talked about the latest comic book Jack had read and lamented the lack of anything good on daytime TV.

Their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of Astrid a little after noon, which honestly surprised Hiccup. "Well look at Mrs. Straight A's missing two half days in a row, someone open the curtains I need to check for flying pigs."

"Ha ha," she said dryly as she took a seat cross legged on the table, moving the half full bag of food onto the floor while giving Hiccup a questioning look to which the brunette just shook his head and rolled his eyes in Jack's direction. "I've only got two free periods and gym after lunch. I challenged the teacher to shoot a three pointer before I did or I got the week off." She said simply.

"And you won. Why am I not surprised in the least?" Hiccup said.

"Because I'm a goddess of all things sports." Astrid said, rolling her shoulders and stretching her arms out lazily.

"Ah, that's right, how could I forget." They spoke for a bit longer before Hiccup's stomach rumbled, Jack's following suite a moment later and Jack offered to go get food again. Hiccup tried to protest, saying he'd already brought breakfast but Jack insisted, already out of the room before Hiccup could really mount much of an argument.

When they were alone Astrid said "So he's back again today?"

"Obviously." Hiccup snapped then stopped, why had that come out so defensive?

"Whoa there, just making an observation." Astrid said with a smirk that Hiccup didn't think he liked one bit. They just sat there in a rather uncomfortable silence, Astrid watching Hiccup and Hiccup looking anywhere but the blond girl until she broke the silence. "He's cute." It was a statement, simple and clear, yet in hung in the air like a storm cloud. Of course Astrid know that Hiccup was…like that, she was the only living person who knew actually, Hiccup having gone to her for advice and understanding many times while he was working through it for himself. He'd been scared to death to tell her, but when he finally had she'd giggle a little, told him she wasn't surprised and assured him it was no big thing, and she'd been true to her word. In fact sometimes Hiccup wished he was as comfortable talking about it as she was, it would certainly make some things easier.

"Obviously he takes care of himself." Hiccup said forcing his voice into a neutral tone, he could only imagine how red his cheeks were getting, if the heat seeping into them was anything to judge by.

"Oh, _obviously._" She said, he tone more than a little patronizing. Hiccup glared at her. "So when are you gonna ask him out?"

"Ah, pft, eh, what makes you think I'm going to ask him out at all?!" Hiccup sputtered.

"Oh come _on_ Hiccup, it's pretty obvious you're into him." Astrid said offhandedly, looking down to examine her fingernails.

"I am not!" Hiccup was indignant, slashing the air with his good arm.

"Oh? Then why are you always laughing at his stupid antics?"

"I'm not laughing at his antics, I'm laughing _at him_."

"You've known him two days and you talk like you've known each other for ever."

"So he'd easy to talk to? That doesn't mean anything."

"Hiccup, it's you. We sat at the same table in preschool for two weeks before you would even tell me your name."

"I was shy back then."

"You're shy now."

"I'm introverted, there's a difference."

"You don't like people." Astrid's voice increased slightly in volume, she was getting tired of Hiccup's stubborn denial.

"I like you, and your kind of people." Hiccup said, his voice rising to match Astrid's.

"And we've been friends for nearly fourteen years." Astrid said, ignoring his jab, her voice had made it well beyond an appropriate "inside voice" at this point but she didn't seem to care.

"He saved my life!" Hiccup shouted in response, then started and blinked several times, what he'd said actually registering with him suddenly. Jack _had_ saved his life, when he certainly did not want to be saved; he should have been angry with Jack at the least, he easily could have hated him for it, he'd been fully prepared to in fact…so why didn't he? Why had he spent all of yesterday comfortably in Jack's company? Why had he been so glad to see him this morning when he'd shown up? How was it he could suddenly go half a day with not a single tormenting though when he'd been unable to go an hour for months? And why had he reacted so strongly to Astrid's observation? "I hate you." Hiccup said as he shot a glare at Astrid who just grinned and leaned back against the wall. Any further remarks were halted by Jack reappearance, his white head coming appearing as he backed into the room with two pizza boxes and a litter of soda.

"Alright, there's plain cheese and pepperoni, who wants what?" He asked as he set the boxes on the table next to Astrid who hoped down to make room for both boxes.

"How did you…?" Hiccup said, gesturing at the boxes in confusion even as a smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

"Called in an order this morning." Jack said with a grin as he opened the box and handed a slice to Astrid. "You didn't think I was going to eat _here_ again, did you?" Jack made a face as he pick up a slice for himself "Which you want Hiccup?"

"I'll take the cheese." Hiccup said with a grin. His favorite kind of pizza was Hawaiian, but since that wasn't an option he went for the cheese. "Thanks Jack, but y-" Hiccup started to offer a thank you but froze as he looked down at the slice Jack had handed him; the triangle was covered with pineapple, ham, and little bits of bacon. He looked up at Jack, who was grinning like a child that had just been told Christmas was coming early, and couldn't do anything but grin in return.

"You did say Hawaiian yesterday, right?"

Hiccup nodded "That I did, that I did."

"Good, wouldn't want to have wasted a perfectly good Pizza by contaminating it like that."

"Don't be hate'n on my pizza." Hiccup said as he took a huge bite and chewed the first bite slowly, the sweet flavor of the pineapple juice mixing with the salty of the sauce was delicious. His eyes happened to meet Astrid's at the moment, the blond teen having relocated to a seat near Jack's usual spot, and she raised her eyebrows pointedly.

Astrid just smiled when Hiccup shot her a glare, waiting till Jack turned away to flop down a seat over from her, there wasn't much she was scared of and Hiccup didn't make that list. She had known Hiccup since they were four years old, and she knew when her best friend was caught up on something, be it a drawing he was agonizing over, an issue with his father, or, in this case, a white haired teen with inhumanly white teeth. At least she usually did, she was still beating herself up over having been so blind two days ago, but she had been so relieved to see her friend smile again she hadn't noticed just how forced that smile was. Looking back now it was painfully obvious, some friend she was… Still, Astrid did know Hiccup better then he preferred to admit, and she knew that he was just shy and stubborn enough to completely ignore this whole thing with Jack, despite his obvious interest, well, obvious to her anyway. Anyone else probably wouldn't notice the constant smirk that Hiccup wore when talking with Jack, the way his eyes never left the pale teen's face, or the fact that the conversation was taking place at all; Hiccup was not an easy person to get close to, he preferred his own company most of the time, and yet there was Jack, having somehow cut through Hiccup's shell like a scalpel.

Astrid spent the rest of the day just watching the interactions between the two boys, taking careful note of the little looks they leveled at one another and the jibes that were basically one step away from open flirting. She also noticed the slightly more forced expressions, saw how Hiccup's face would fall into introspection while Jack went on obliviously, she could probably guess what he was thinking about. Every passing minute made her more and more certain that she had to do _something_, what though she wasn't quite sure. It wasn't until a nurse came in to inform them that visiting hours were over in ten minutes that an idea started to form in her mind.

"Feel better Hiccup," she said as she gave him a brief hug "Schools boring without you to talk to."

"Yeah, feel better man. If you're stuck here much longer you may die from food poisoning." Astrid could see the corners of Hiccup's mouth raise in a smile as Jack leaned down and gave him a quick hug as well.

"So will I be seeing you tomorrow?" Hiccup asked looking directly at Jack before glancing over and Astrid for a heartbeat and then back at Jack.

"Well I'll be here around lunch again, that bet was for the whole week so I've nothing else to do." Astrid said with a grin.

"I doubt I'll be able to convince my mom to let me skip another day, so I probably won't be able to until after school lets out." Astrid was behind Jack, so she couldn't see his face, but she did see his shoulder's fall as he spoke. Hiccup's face fell into a frown for a split second before pulling up in what Astrid knew to be a fake smile.

"You mean you're actually going to school? And here I thought you were a lost cause." Hiccup said with a bit of his usual snark.

"You wound me Hiccup." Jack said, striking a dramatic pose before laughing and heading to where Astrid was standing, next to the open door and rather impatient looking nurse. They waved to Hiccup once more before the door was closed and he was lost to their sight. Astrid was surprised when Jack leaned over to the nurse and said "Keep a close eye on him, alright? He seemed kinda out of it today, seemed to be thinking about something." Huh, apparently Jack had noticed more then she'd given him credit for.

"Of course, I'll let the night nurse know. Its good he's got friends like you two, company can help a lot with these things." Jack and Astrid left the nurse and headed toward the entrance where their respective parents would be picking them up soon.

"That was nice of you." Astrid said as they walked down the quiet hallway.

"Uh, thanks…what exactly did I do?"

"What you said to the nurse. I worry about him a lot, nice to see I'm not alone."

"Oh, well I get it, so, ya know…"

"Yeah. I do what I can but I wish I could be around for him more often." She said. Putting both hands behind her head Astrid made her voice as casual as she could and, keeping her face pointed right in front of her said, "I swear, I have got to find that boy a boyfriend, maybe then I won't have to worry so much, or maybe I'll worry more, who knows, guess it would depend on who he finds." Astrid had to suppress a grin as, out of the corner of her eye, she say Jack's head snap toward her so fast at the word 'boyfriend' she wondered how he didn't get whiplash.

"Uhh…hmm." Jack muttered, not know what to say. Astrid had just said 'get that boy a boyfriend' which meant that Hiccup was both single, and, if Jack was interpreting the blonds words correctly (not that that was a difficult task) might actually be interested in him. Luckily for Jack he was saved from having to find something to say by the timely arrival of Aster driving his old Jeep. "Uh, bye Astrid." He said, waving as he walked around and climbed into the passenger seat. He gave Aster a quick hello as he strapped in before falling completely into his own thoughts. Had he been more observant, he may have noticed the blond figure in the rearview mirror punch its fist into the air and do a little spin before settling into its usual, calmer demeanor.

Damn Astrid. Damn her pushy, nosey, doesn't know how to mind her own business self. Why couldn't she have just minded her own business instead of coming in and shattering Hiccup's wonderful denial? He could have, and would have quite happily, remained oblivious to growing crush he was developing on his unexpected new friend, in fact it would have made things a hell of a lot simpler. For starters, he certainly would not have spent the last few hours catching himself staring at Jack whenever the opportunity presented itself. Noticing the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, grinning at the happiness that infused his entire face when he laughed, tracing the curves of his lips as he talked, wondering if those lips were as smooth as they looked…shit. Hiccup buried his face in his left hand with a sigh; he had, somehow, by some miracle, without even meaning to, made a friend that didn't find him weird or boring and he had to go screw it up by falling for him. "Jack probably doesn't even swing that way. He certainly doesn't radiate that aura, then again neither do I really, but that's beside the point. The point is that I'm not going to find out because I'm not asking him out, Astrid be damned." Hiccup let out a self-deprecating chuckle "I can just imagine that conversation now 'Oh hi Jack, for some reason you seem to want to be friends with me and I think you're a pretty cool person whose company I enjoy, wanna go out? Ya no, it's ok you can laugh, ya I can't imagine why anyone would want to go out with me either. Ya no worries I didn't really expect to see you again anyway its cool, bye.' Jack's cool and I'm not going to ruin this friendship, can you call it a friendship after two days? Can you be friends with someone after two days? Well apparently you can be crushing on them so why not? Ugh! I'm not going to ruin this friendship over some stupid crush!" Hiccup ran his left hand over his face as he growled before meeting is reflection's gaze in the now dark window before him. "and now I'm talking to myself…wonderful, as if my sanity wasn't already questionable enough."

Hiccup spent the rest of the night, save for one mercifully short visit from his father, thinking along much the same vein, trying to convince himself that he could just forget about this ridiculous crush and just move on. The night was far from restful, Hiccup's racing mind took hours to finally calm down enough to fall asleep and even when it finally did his dreams were filled with a particular while haired youth. Looking back however, Hiccup would later realize that, while his thoughts were indeed far from peaceful that night, they did not once stray down the darker paths they had favored these past months. That right there would have told him all he needed to know. ************************************************** ****************************

Jack awoke that morning to the first few strains of "Schools Out" as his mp3 player glowed to life, an irony Jack would have appreciated if he hadn't been too busy rubbing the sleep from his eyes, informing him it was time to wake for the day. As Jack had predicted, his mom had said that two days was plenty enough school to be missing and even his most impassioned arguments had failed to convince her otherwise. So, dragging his feet every step of the way, Jack trudged through his morning routine, reluctantly preparing for another tedious day of school. He took a quick shower, spending a few wonderful moments fantasizing about falling back asleep under the warm water, threw on his favorite hoodie and s pair of Khaki pants and grabbed his backpack.

With one last forlorn look around his bedroom Jack walked over to the circular opening set into his far wall and, doing his best to suppress the feeling that today was going to be a terrible day, threw himself into the tube. Several sharp turns and one stomach lurching drop that never failed to put a little grin on his face later, Jack popped out in the hallway just outside the kitchen, the slide letting him out at waist level. Stifling a yawn Jack opened the kitchen door and was immediately assailed with the small of bacon, potatoes, eggs, cheese, and orange juice.

A grin spreading across his face Jack took a seat at the bar next to his mom. "Morning." He said to the room at large.

"How'd you sleep sweetie?" Anna asked as she scrolled through something on her phone.

"Fine." Jack lied, not feeling like explaining that he'd spent the better portion of the night debating whether or not he was going to pursue his growing crush on a certain befreckled hospital patient.

"Well, your hair looks like it lost a fight with a blender, and your roots are starting to show." Said Pitch, who was bustling around the kitchen, dolling out the contents of various pans onto a plate which he set in front of Jack before moving on to prepare another plate.

"What!?" Jack all but shouted grabbing a spoon and examining his distorted reflection, pulling back his hair to expose the still white roots, his natural brunette hair not yet peeking through. There was a low chuckle from the direction of the stove. "Why do you have to be such a dick?"

"I'm only a dick to people who deserve it." He said as he glided around the counter a set a plate in front of Nick who gave a hearty exclamation in Russian before pouncing on his food.

"Yer always a dick ta me." Aster interjected from where he was standing by the sink, steadily cleaning the dirty pans generated by breakfasts.

"Put it together love." Pitch replied in a patronizing tone, causing Jack to let out a loud laugh which turned into an over exaggerated gagging noise as he watched Pitch glide over and giving Aster a quick peck on the cheek, which of course his brother turned into a full blown battle of the tongues right there in the middle of the kitchen, at least until Pitch pulled back and cuffed him on the side of the head.

"Settle down boys, we eat here." Anna said, not looking up from her phone. Breakfast went uneventfully for the most part, everybody devouring their food with gusto. Pitch and Aster were the only two in the house that could actually cook, and while Jack would never admit it to his face he had to admit that Pitch was an amazing cook. As Jack finished the last bite of the perfectly fluffy eggs, the bacon having lasted an impressive six seconds on his plate, Jack (grudgingly) thanked Pitch for the food and shouldered his book bag. "Have a good day as _school_ sweetie." Anna said, giving Jack a slightly too warm smile. The inflection she put on the word 'school' clearly said 'because that's where you'll be going if you want to live through the day.'

"Have good day Jack!" Nick called through a mouthful of eggs before swallowing and adding "Be careful."

The atmosphere in the kitchen changed like a light bulb blowing, the pleasant feeling pervading the room changed to a charged kind of surprise and apprehension as every eye locked itself on Nick. The large man continued eating, blissfully unaware of just how fragile the air in the room had just become. Jack felt his heart sink, the slight feeling that today was going to be a bad day solidifying into full on apprehension at Nick's words. His adoptive father was not the type of person to tell someone to 'be careful,' having a philosophy much more akin to 'if you live through it, it is victory!' that by itself wouldn't be cause for alarm except Nick had a sixth sense for when something bad was going to happen. The last time he'd told someone to be careful Jack had nearly broken both his legs on a snowboarding trip; the time before that was to Aster before a mountain climbing expedition a few years ago, the next time Jack had seen his brother he'd been in a hospital bed breathing through a tube. With so many hits and no misses they could recall, the family had learned to take these incidents seriously.

Anna's tone was a forced calm when she spoke "Aster, why don't you drive Jack to school today? It's getting a bit nippy out."

"Sure thing mum, r'you ready ta go frostbite?" Aster said, understanding immediately.

"I suppose." Jack said, with a shaky laugh, throwing a glance at Nick before walked heading out to the garage and taking a seat in Aster's Jeep.

Aster arrived a minute later and hoped into the car, hitting the garage door opener on his way and turned the key in the ignition. He looked over at Jack with concern "Do be careful alright mate? Don't go doin anythin reckless er anythin."

"Me? Reckless? It's like you don't even know me."

"I know ya plenty well, thas why 'm worried."

Despite the feeling a doom that Jack could now feel following him like he'd been marked for death, he made it to school just fine, thanked Aster for the ride and made his way into the building.

Jack's first class passed uneventfully, unless you count his teacher 'welcoming him back' in front of the entire class…dick. Now he was on his way to study hall which his teacher, bless her heart, had decided to hold in the courtyard in order to take advantage of the rapidly fading summer. Jack surveyed the courtyard when he arrived, a mostly paved area dotted with tables and a few tree here and there. He was about to take a seat in a secluded corner and start on the math homework that he'd been given to catch up on, as much as he didn't want to, when he heard someone call from across the courtyard.

"Hey Frost!" Looking to see who the owner of the voice was he saw Snotlout Jorgenson waving him over from the middle of the group of people, mostly kids from the football team, that always seemed to surround him. Jack had been on the team as a kicker for half his freshmen year before his disdain for spending all his nights in practice ended that little adventure, yet 'Snot' still seemed to think they were friends. Thinking it best not to start any issued Jack shuffled over to the burly teen.

"Whats up?"

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"You know, that you found Haddock trying to off himself on Monday?" Jack stiffened immediately at the other teen's words. The…_amused_ look on Snot's face made Jack grit his teeth, he hands clenching into fists. He was about to answer when Snot continued "I know you were just doing the right thing, but I mean, it was _Haddock._ Woulda been doing the world a service if you'd just left him." Snot laughed, the boys surrounding him echoing his amusement a moment later, his face falling slightly as he saw Jack apparently hadn't appreciated hi joke.

It took all Jack's self-control to keep his voice quite as he spoke through clenched teeth "Shut up."

"What's eating you? It Haddock, he's a loser, his closest friends are the teachers, he's embarrassing in Phy Ed, he useless! If my life sucked that bad I'd wanna end it to." More chuckles from the peanut gallery. Jack was having a hard time keeping himself from shaking, his fingernails digging into his palm.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? How can you be so callous you ass hole!"

Snot let out a mocking laugh "What do you care Frost, you making him another _charity case_ huh?"

"Fuck off Snot." Jack spat before turning on his heel. He was about to start walking when he heard from behind him.

"Whatever, I know if_ I'd_ found him I would'a left him. Hell, I would'a helped him along." Another barking laugh accompanied the statement. That was in, that was the last straw, that was one step to far.

Jack turned and stepped close to Snotlout. "I'm warning you Snot." He said, his voice cold.

"Ooooh, what are _you_ going to do _Frost_" Snot said, his voice full of derision. To accentuate his point he brought his hangs up and shoved Jack hard, forcing the smaller teen back.

Aster had taught Jack how to fight when he was fifteen and those lessons had been put to good use on a couple of occasions when people thought it would be fun to mess with him over the gay thing. Balling his fist like Aster had taught him Jack closed the distance between himself and Snotlout in one step and swung, his fist connecting solidly with the large teen's face, snapping his head to the side and causing him stumble, overbalance, and fall flat on the ground.

The silence in the courtyard was obsolete, the low murmur of conversation having died completely as every student turned to stare at Jack, standing over Snotlout, breathing heavily, his hands still balled into fists.

His teacher's voice cut through the silence like a knife "Mr. Frost, Mr. Jorgenson, principal's office, _now_."

Anna North was busying herself with the various affairs of "ToohieAnna's Fairies" the charity she had started a few years ago that provided free dental care to people who couldn't otherwise afford it. She hadn't picked them name, her staff had and despite her abjections it stuck. What had started as a single clinic just a few years ago had now spread across the entire country, and she was at that very moment reviewing plans for expansion into other countries. Needless to say, at that moment she was a very busy woman; yet all the emails to respond to, plans to ok, permits to get cleared and licenses applications to follow up on did nothing to distract her from the worry that had nagged at the back of her mind since breakfast. Anna knew both her children were big boys now, capable or taking care of themselves, well past the age where she had to watch over them like a mother hen…but damnit she still worried and that was her right and duty as a mother! She knew Jack wouldn't lie to her about anything important; the GPS in his phone was just for her peace of mind, she trusted Jack to behave himself and keep out of trouble, the breathalyzer in his dashboard was just there for verification.

Taking a deep breath Anna attempted to refocus herself on her work, finally giving that up when she realized she had just read the same sentence four times without understanding a word of it, she just couldn't stop worrying about Jack. It had been a rather unexpected thing, Jack coming into their lives four years ago. She and her husband had adopted Aster when he was eleven and hadn't intended on adding any more to their little family, but when Anna had heard about Jack through a friend she just couldn't get his story out of her head. In the end they'd gone to meet Jack and put through the adoption request the next day, and that was that. Anna had expected Jack would be a different case then Aster, would take more work and watching (if that were even possible) and she hadn't been wrong. Maybe it was his history that mad her worry about Jack so much then she ever had her elder child.

Anna was shaken from her introspection by the buzzing of her phone on the table. As she grabbed is her heart lurched even as her shoulder's relaxed, it was Jack's school, not a hospital or the police, just Jack's school. "Hello?" She answered, he voice slightly higher than usual.

"Hello Anna, its Tim." Yes, she was on a first name basis with the principal, so what?

"Ah, hello Tim. Wish I could say it was good to hear from you again."

Time laughed, "Yes, been almost a month hasn't it?"

"Twenty six days," Anna said, a slight laugh in her own voice now. Tim wouldn't have been this calm if Jack was hurt "I was beginning to hope I'd heard the last of you."

"You and me both." Tim's voice became more serious as he spoke "Jack was involved in an altercation with another student today during second hour."

Anna groaned as she spoke "Is he hurt?"

"No, nothing like that, both of them are fine though Mr. Jorgenson is sporting quite the black eye."

"I'm so sorry, do you need me to come get him?"

"Well, I've already suspended both boys for the remainder of the week but, Anna, Mr. Jorgenson intends on pressing charges."

Anna's face hardened at that, she would admit that she might have been a teeny bit biased, but she also knew her son and he wasn't one to start a fight, though he certainly would finish them. It sounded to her like someone was trying to pick on her baby, and nobody got through that unscathed. "Thanks for the heads up Tim, I'll send someone down to pick up Jack right away."

"Thank you Anna, have a good day."

"You too Tim."

Anna had barely hung up the phone before she was dialing Aster's number, holding the phone to her ear as it rang 6 times before going to voicemail, she called back and was sent to voicemail after three rings. She frowned and tapped out _call me _NOW_ or I'm coming down there_, then sat back and counted. She got to fourteen before her phone rang.

"Hello dear." She answered cheerily.

"Hey mum, what c'n I…do fer ya?" Aster was rather breathless as he spoke.

"Put Koz on please." Anna waited while the phone was handed over.

"Anna. What can _I_ do for you?" Koz's voice was calm and even as always.

"I need you to get dressed and head over to Jack's school, I've got a case for you."

"Oh?" Anna explained the situation, as well as her suspicions, quickly. "Sounds interesting, I'll leave right away."

"Thank you." Anna said, suppressing a giggle at the annoyed exclamation from Aster she could just hear through the phone. She hung up and took a deep breath, calming her slightly frayed nerves. With crisis averted, and her best attack dog set on whoever it was going after her family, Anna North settled down to get some work done, after all, she was a very busy woman.

Jack sat stiffly in his chair, his gaze darting between Snotlout who sat across from Jack glaring at Jack through his eye that wasn't swollen shut, the school police officer who was sitting between the two teens, and Snotlout's father, an intimidatingly large man with thinning black hair and an impressive belly he'd squeezed into a sharp gray suit.

"Is it really necessary to wait like this? I've already made it perfectly clear that my son intends to press charges." Mr. Jorgenson addressed the officer, his tone irritated.

The officer responded, his own tone echoing Mr. Jorgenson's irritation "You have, and, though I didn't actually arrest him, Mr. Frost here has invoked his right to legal counsel, and since his legal council is on his way here anyway I figure it would be easiest to wait and save us all a trip to the station if possible. Several more minutes passed in uncomfortable silence before the door flew open and Pitch, dressed in a black suit and sporting his smuggest grin, the one he reserved for when he had just won a case or insulted Jack.

"My apologies for the delay," he said as he approached the table and took a seat next to Jack, digging through his briefcase as he sat down "but I had to pick these up on the way here." As he spoke he tossed a stack of papers onto the middle of the table.

"Not a problem Mr…?" The officer said, looking at Pitch.

"Kozmotis Black." Pitch said, extending his hand to the officer who shook it briefly.

"What are these?" Mr. Jorgenson asked, holding one of the sheets at arm's length as he read it.

"Signed witness statements from seven students, all swearing that Mr. Jorgenson was the aggressor in their altercation, and Mr. Frost's actions were solely in self-defense."

"Why that's ridiculous! You can't just come in here-" Mr. Jorgenson began to sputter but Pitch overrode him.

"With that in mind, I am informing you that we fully intend to press charges of our own against young Mr. Jorgenson here." Pitch said, gesturing at Snotlout "Unless, we can all agree that the matter of a petty schoolyard squabble is far beneath our time and just forget all about it?" The smile Pitch leveled at the large man in front of him was so smug Jack couldn't suppress a small grin at the sight.

Jack had to suppress a full blown laugh as he watched a vein in Mr. Jorgenson's neck pulse in time with one in his forehead, he could practically _see_ the large man's blood pressure rising. After several moments Mr. Jorgenson took a deep breath and forced one of the best shit-eating-grins Jack had ever seen onto his face "Well, seeing as no permanent harm was done I don't see any real need to blow this out or peroration. My apologies for the inconvenience." He said to both Pitch and the officer before standing and striding from the room with Snotlout at his heals.

"Thank you for your time officer." Pitch said as he gathered up the papers from the table "I will be taking Jack home now, unless there's anything else?"

"No, that would be it. You have a good day," he said with a small smile before directing his words at Jack "and stay out of fights, understood?"

"Yes sir." Jack said, nodding his agreement.

The walk through the school was a bit uncomfortable what with half the kids they past staring at Jack, 4th hour had just let out so the halls were packed with people gawking at the kid who had punched out Snotlout Jorgenson. When they finally exited the building and Jack couldn't feel any more eyes glued to him he turned to Pitch. "How did you get those statements so fast?"

"I merely asked for them, your classmates were surprisingly eager to throw Mr. Jorgenson under the bus. I take it he's none to popular?"

"By his own fault, jackass thinks he's better then everyone." Jack still felt his temper flare up when he thought about Snotlout's comments.

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree then," Pitch said as he lead Jack to car where Aster was waiting.

"Mum want's ya t' call her, _now_." He said as Jack climbed into the back seat and strapped himself in.

Jack gave a sigh as he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed him mom's number, she answered on the first ring.

"Explain. Now." Was all she said when she picked up. As calmly as he could Jack explained what had happened to his mother, not glossing over any details in his description.

As soon as he finished Anna spoke "Well, while I still don't think you should ever have to resort to violence, I'm proud of you Jack." Jack certainly hadn't expected that response; he'd expected at least a chewing out and at worst a grounding to end all groundings. "I'm on the other line with a woman from customs, we can talk more when you get home if you'd like." His mother said after a moment. Jack didn't much like the idea of going home, his was still agitated from the day's experience and he didn't think much of going home and sitting in his room. There was really only one place he wanted to go at that moment, and, seeing as how he wasn't grounded Jack decided to push his luck.

"Uh, mom?"

"Yes dear?"

"Do you think I could head to the hospital for a while?" There was a long pause, during which Jack was sure his mother was thinking of a way to say no.

"I don't see a problem with that, as long as you're back by curfew."

"Really? Thanks!" Surprise mad Jack's voice louder than he had intended and he heard Anna laughing.

"You're welcome, have a good time."

As Jack hung up the phone Aster spoke up "I think ya let the bastard of easy. 'E woulda walked away with a lot more 'an a black eye if 'ed said that shit in fronta me."

"Yes, and then I would have had to explain to a court why you attacked an eighteen year old." Pitch said without shifting his gaze from the window where he'd been staring the entire ride.

"Ah, psh." Aster dismissed with a chuckle "Either way I'm proud a ya Frostbite, standin' up fer someone like that."

"Funny enough that exactly what mom said."

"Really? So then 'm I take'n ya to the hospital?"

Jack grinned "If you wouldn't mind." The drive to the hospital was a quick one, Jack finding his anger slowly being replaced by excitement at the idea of seeing Hiccup again, and apprehension at the idea of being in the same room as Hiccup, give his growing feelings for his new friend.

Astrid: _Hey Hiccup, how r u feeling?_

You: _Tired, stressed, conflicted, anxious, and a little hungry_

Astrid: _Well that kinds sucks…_

You: _I blame you for 4/5 of those_

Astrid: _How is it my fault your hungry!?_

You: _That the one that I don't blame on you, though I'm sure if I think hard enough I'll find a way._

Astrid: _Har har. How is the rest my fault?_

You: _You had to bring up Jack yesterday, didn't you? Just couldn't leave well enough alone!_

Astrid: _So sorry I pointed out the PAINFUULLY OBVIOUS! I'm pretty sure your DAD could have figured it out!_

You: _Not Funny. _

Astrid: _So, you were up all night thinking about him?_

You: _NO!_

Astrid: _Did you dream about him?_

You: _HELL NO!_

Astrid: _I knew it!_

You: _I SAID NO!_

Astrid: _But you meant YES!_

You: _…I hate you_

Astrid: _I know, but I forgive you, because love makes people say things they don't mean_

You: _…I'm ignoring you _

Astrid: _Good luck with that! so you gonna ask him out or what?_

Astrid: _Fine, I'll just do it for you_

You: _Oh if you so much as mention it to him I will murderer you in your sleep!_

Astrid: _Ooooh, I'm so scared!_

You: _Slowly_

Astrid: _Doubt it_

You: _And painfully _

Astrid: _I'd like to see that_

You: _With a spork! _

Astrid: _Really? You're gonna murdure me with Sporkman? _

You: _…_

Astrid: _Your smiling now, aren't you?_

You: _Screw you!_

Astrid: _HA! Just admit it already, you like him!_

You: _Fine, yes, alright, I like him! Happy now? Not that it changes anything._

Astrid: _Well of course it does! I don't see why you won't just ask him out!_

You: _Cause best case he says no and we move in, worst case he's werided out and never wants to see me again. _

Astrid: _I can guarantee we won't be weirded out_

You: _Oh? And hows that? Physic powers finally come in?_

Astrid: _No, but he didn't mind when I mentioned you needed a boyfriend._

You: _YOU DID WHAT!? WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO GO AROUND TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT MY BUISNESS! I CANT BEALIVE YOUASTRID! _

Astrid: _Seemed pretty interested in that little tidbit actually_

You: _…he did?_

Astrid: _Yup, did a double take and got all "thinky" on me_

You: _…_

Astrid: _Well I'll be damned, Hiccup Haddock speechless. Looks like hell has finally frozen over, looks like I'm finally getting that pony. _

You: _You never wanted a pony_

Astrid: _Not the point! Ask him out damn it! I'm not going to let you ignore this and miss this opportunity._

Astrid: _I mean it Hiccup_

Astrid: _Just ask him, don't be so nervous! Just go for it and hope for the best. _

Astrid: _Hello?_

Hiccup let out a growl of frustration as he glared at his phone, which he had finally gotten around to digging out of the backpack his father had dropped off. Astrid had been hounding him for the last couple hours, since he had woken feeling, shall we say less then restful, and she showed no signs of letting up. She meant well, but she didn't understand. She was Astrid, she was pretty and popular, guy were lining up (almost literally) to ask her out. Hiccup was…well, Hiccup! What kind of guy would possibly be interested in a lanky, pale, freakishly freckled, skin and bones, antisocial, and newly suicidal, looser? His many…many many many failings aside, there was one even bigger issue with following Astrid's advice. No matter how hard he tried Hiccup couldn't keep his eyes from returning to Astrid's last text _'hope for the best'_. He couldn't help a self-deprecating laugh as he thought about that phrase over and over again, the impossible word running through his mind, mocking him; _Hope_.

How long had it been since he'd last hoped? How long had it been since he'd even tried? He knew exactly how long it had been, almost ten months to the day, since he'd last been able to find it in himself to hope...Since the last time he'd spoken with her…Hiccup clenched his jaw as he blinked away the tears he could feel forming in the corners of his eyes.

*_knock-knock knock-knock-knock…knock-knock*_ Hiccup started at the sharp rapping on his door. Swallowing and clearing his throat he called out a quiet "come in." He froze when, much to his surprise, a snow white head popped into the room, a bright smile fixed just beneath bright blue eyes; Hiccup could feel the corners of his mouth lifting even as his brain was still processing his unexpected visitor. "…Jack?" He finally managed to stutter out the lame response.

"Hey Hiccup." Jack said, his smile falling slightly as he got a better look at Hiccup's face, his eye quickly taking in how watery the brunette's eyes were. "You alright dude?"

"What? Oh, ya fine." Hiccup tilted his head in confusion for a second before realizing what Jack meant and bringing a hand up to wipe his eyes. It wasn't a lie though, at that exact moment Hiccup couldn't think of anything that was wrong.

"You sure? I can come back later is this is a bad time." Jack said, motioning toward the door halfheartedly.

"No!" Hiccup said quickly, a slight blush creeping into his cheeks as he elaborated "I'm fine, really. Just tired, not been sleeping the best in the new place." It wasn't a complete lie, he _had_ been having trouble sleeping. Before Jack had a chance to respond Hiccup continued, changing the subject of so subtly "So what brings you here at this hour? Shouldn't you be pretending to pay attention in class right now?"

"Hey! I pay attention in class! …sometimes." Jack said, trying to deflect Hiccup's question.

"I'm sure it's quite the ordeal for you too."

"Oh haha." Jack said sarcastically from where he had taken his usual seat and turned on the TV, flipping through channels so fast Hiccup could barely make out what was on. They settled on some documentary on quite possibly the creepiest looking fish Hiccup had ever seen, all spiny and frilly with giant teeth and tentacles.

"You ditching class then?" Hiccup said after about twenty minutes of comfortable silence.

Jack let out a little sigh and refused to look at Hiccup before he spoke "Uh, no…I uh, heh, I got suspended for the rest of the week."

"Wow, there has to be a story behind that." Hiccup said expectantly.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck nervously "It's nothing really, just got into a fight with some idiot during study hall."

"You? Got into a fight? I didn't think you were the hoodlum type Mr. Frost."

"Well I didn't _start_ the fight!" Jack said defensively.

"Oh, did he try and steal your hairgel?"

Jack rolled his eyes "No."

"Hmmm, they refuse to let you copy their homework? Make fun of your too-shoe-things? Try and say comic books aren't real?" Hiccup was having fun with this now "Oh, I know, I bet they-"

"It's not a joke!" Jack shouted. Hiccup started, broken out of the train of thought and noticed how stiff Jack's back was, and how his fists were balled into fists: Hiccup had never seen Jack look any bit angry and he had to admit it was a tiny bit frightening, he kind of looked like he was going to snap any second.

"Whoa, sorry. I didn't mean anything by it Jack, I was ju-" Hiccup was silenced as Jack held up a finger. Jack's piercing blue eyes darted to Hiccup's as he said spoke quietly.

"They were talking about you."

"Really? What about me?" Hiccup's voice had fallen to match Jack's. Looking at the white haired teen Hiccup could tell he didn't want to answer, his jaw was set and he was refusing to look at Hiccup. "Jack…what were they saying?"

"He asked me about…Monday. He said…said I shouldn't have…wasted my time…ya know…calling anybody." Jack's face had gone hard, his jaw clenched is his eyes gleamed angrily.

"Oh…" Hiccup said lamely, that certainly wasn't what he had expected, not that he was surprised honestly.

"Yeah. So I hit him."

"Oh, well thanks…I think. I wish you hadn't though." Hiccup was surprised by how quickly Jack's gaze shot up to meet his own. He continued hesitantly "I mean, it's not really worth the trouble. Besides, it's not like there wrong."

"DON'T...Don't say that Hiccup." Jack started to shout before getting control of himself.

"Why not? I tried to kill myself Jack," Those words felt strange on Hiccup's tongue even as he said them. "that doesn't exactly scream 'promising future.'"

Jack was standing now, taking several steps toward Hiccup to stop a foot from the edge of the brunette's bed. Jack could hardly contain himself, hearing the smaller boy lying before him, looking so beaten and broken (and adorable and precious and perfect), saying that made Jack want to scream. Suddenly the thought of what might have happened had Jack not been in that bathroom, which had always been repugnant, was now downright horrifying. He refused to think of it. "Look Hiccup, I get it, I know how yo-"

"Don't. Don't say you know how I feel." Hiccup's voice was suddenly cold. He was tired of people telling him 'I know how you feel' or 'It gets better, trust me' nobody knew how he felt, nobody could understand what it was like to live every day with the crushing guilt he carried.

"I do understand though Hiccup, you-"

"NO YOU DON'T! Everyone says that, everyone knows how I'm feeling, everyone knows what to do to fix me, everyone _understands _and I'm fucking sick of it!" Hiccup was shouting now, he knew he sounded like overdramatic teen but he didn't care, he had started and now he couldn't stop himself if he wanted to. "Nobody understands what it feels like to wake up every morning _knowing_ that things won't _ever_ be better, won't _ever_ be fixed, because you can't go back and change the past no matter how much you want to! You can't go back and fix things, you can't make things right, you can't…you can't take things back." Hiccup's voice broke as he finished and he bit his lower lip, sucking in a shaky breath threw his nose and trying desperately to fight back the tears he knew were coming.

"You might be surprised." Jacks voice was calm when he spoke and Hiccup looked up at him to see a sad smile on his face, slowly he stepped forward until he was at Hiccup's bedside. Hiccup was about to speak, but his voice failed him when Jack reached around his head, grabbed the back of his hoodie and pulled it off over his head. A bright pink blush crept into Hiccup's cheeks even through all the anger, sadness, and grief raging inside him. Jack was lean with lightly defined abs, the skin on his chest was even paler then his face, which was impressive. Hiccup's eyes, which were busy ogling the suddenly shirtless runway model before him froze when they fell upon a thin white line about four inches long that ran across Jack's stomach at a slight angle.

Jack smiled at Hiccup and took a seat on the bed as he said "Let me tell you about how I met my best friend Sandy."

**There you go, giant huge freaking chapter! Sorry to anyone who dosn't like long chapters, I can promise the next one won't be this long! Hope you enjoyed it, thanks to everyone who's followed favorited and commented on this story, your feedback means so much to me ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

**Been out of town for a few days so it took longer to edit this then I would have liked, but its done now ^^ I had to go through like 5 versions of the first part of this chapter until I was was pleased with it so that didn't help either -_- I want to take a second here to say thanks to everyone who reads my stories, and give a special thank you to everyone who leaves such wonderful and kind reviews. They mean a lot and are a big uplifter when I start to think this whole "I wanna be a writer" this is just a silly dream. :) So once again, thank you!**

**Alright, enough sappy stuff, here's what you came for! Enjoy ^^**

Had you told Hiccup earlier that day that within a few hours' time there would be a shirtless Jack Frost sitting on his bed, he'd have told you you were crazy, and if you told him he'd be creaming at said shirtless Jack-well actually he'd probably buy that. The entire situation was still processing itself in Hiccup's head when Jack took a steadying breath before speaking. "I suppose the best place to start would be the very beginning, easier than going back later." Had the situation been different, and had Jack's face not held so much sorrow, Hiccup would have retorted with a snarky 'yes that tends to be the best place to_ begin_'. Things being as they were though Hiccup merely sat there, his eyes locked on Jack's face (a rather impressive feat considering their other options at the moment) as the taller teen stared at the wall. "I was born in a small town out in Pennsylvania, it was a nice place to live, plenty of other kids to hang around with, an arcade we'd always go to, this little pond we used to go swimming in during the summer." A sad smile stretched across Jack's face as he thought back "Oh, me and my younger sister that is." He said as he noticed Hiccup's confusion at his use of the plural.

"I didn't know you had a sister?" Hiccup said quietly, his anger from earlier having been completely dispelled by Jack's sudden somber demeanor.

Jack turned to Hiccup and gave him a small smile "Yeah, her name was Emma, and she was such a little shit." Jack chuckled softly "Not that I wasn't back then, I tormented her day and night, I _was_ her big brother after all, and she got me back for every single prank I pulled. This one time, like the third or fourth time I'd ever died my hair, she got ahold of my dye somehow and switched it. Long story short I spend the next month with bright neon pink hair." Jack was laughing softly now and Hiccup felt himself getting pulled in as well, joining in with a soft chuckle.

"Oh wow, are there pictures? I've got to meet this girl." The change in Jack's demeanor was almost frightening, his smile was replaced with an impassive look in the span of a single blink and he turned back to the wall before speaking, his voice a hoarse whisper.

"She's dead." Hiccup froze, not knowing what to say; Jack's use of the past tense was suddenly painfully obvious.

"Jack…I…I'm sorry." Hiccup stammered, not knowing what else to day.

"Me too." Jack shot Hiccup an incredibly sad smile before extending his arms behind his torso and leaning back on them. Palms flat on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"You don't have to tell me this Jack..." Jack forestalled anymore objections with a dismissing wave of his hand.

"I was eleven, it was the first big snow of the year and I was bouncing off the walls, I bugged my parents incessantly until they agreed to take me and Emma sledding. There was this giant hill we'd always go to every year, it was a bit of a drive but it was worth it. When we got there me and Emma were so wired, I practically flew up the hill. It was the perfect sledding day too; the snow was still soft and fluffy but just wet enough that it would pack together a little bit and make the sled go faster. Me and Emma went up and down that hill more times than I could count; our parents finally had to drag us back to the car when it got too dark to sled." Hiccup could see the scene Jack painted before him, a little bright eyed Jack running alongside a little girl to bundled up in winter clothing for Hiccup to make out any details, running up the hill and speeding back down…it would have been a happy scene except for the ending Hiccup knew was coming.

The small smile that had crept onto Jack's face while he described the day of sledding vanished as he continued "We were driving home, it was dark and me and Emma were arguing over what station to listen to on the radio…funny how you remember stuff like that so clearly. It gets kinda fuzzy after that, everything just happened so fast. All of a sudden there was a horn blaring and then my mom screamed and my head hit the seat in front of me. I remember a lot of shouting, and bright light and someone talking to me and then I was stumbling down the road. There was a big bag, I hit something cold…and I woke up two days later in the hospital with a broken arm, missing the hair on half my head…suddenly an orphan and only child..."

"Jack…" Hiccup wanted to say something but he had no idea what, the pain on his friend's face was all too familiar to the brunette and he felt the familiar clenching in his chest.

"I made the doctor's tell me what happened when I was in the hospital, fought them every time they tried to do anything until they did. We hit a truck transporting chemicals of some sort. The collision cracked the tank and when whatever it was hit the engine it ignited. The way we crashed jammed the front doors shut, one of my parents must have gotten me out of my buckle and shoved me out of the car though because I was stumbling away from the crash when the fire reached the main tank. I was thrown forty feet through the air by the explosion, only survived because I landed in one of those big piles of snow the plows leave." Jack's voice was so calm as he spoke that Hiccup was shocked to see the tears run from the corner of Jack's eye down the side of his head and onto the thin hospital blanket. "They said that being that close to the explosion…death would have been all but instant-"Jack's voice broke then and his shoulder's shook once before he took a deep breathe through his nose.

At that moment Hiccup felt like the biggest tool in existence as he thought back to just what he'd so recently been shouting at the boy now crying in front of him, and he realized that Jack understood the loss he felt completely. Slowly Hiccup reached out his hand and rested in on Jack's, giving the pale teen's finger's a little squeeze. Jack took a deep breath before looking at Hiccup and giving a little smile, his thumb coming up to brush against Jack's in acknowledgement. He continued, his voice only the tiniest bit shaky, "That's how I ended up in foster care. It wasn't that bad really, but I wasn't exactly a 'model child' at that point…I was grief stricken and angry and I felt like it was my fault because if I hadn't been so insistent on going sledding it never would have happened."

"That's ridiculous Jack, you had nothing to do with what happened!" Hiccup suddenly shouted, his voice angry.

"Try telling that to an eleven year old." Jack said, his face splitting into a self-mocking smile for a split second. "Anyway," Jack forestalled any more comments "the people are always so understanding at the start, doing whatever they can to help…but eventually they want the angry little boy to get over it and be happy. After a while they stopped even trying to find homes for me and just dumped me in a group home. It got progressively worse from there, not that I really let on, I was already a "troubled child" didn't see a need to add depression onto the apparently long list of what was wrong with me." Hiccup understood where Jack was coming from all too well, the sympathy and "understanding" got aggravating enough when people thought you were just sad. Jack took a deep breath before continuing, his face once again directed at the wall. "One day I had just finally had enough, I didn't want to feel the pain anymore, I didn't want to go on. I stole one of the other kid's CD players and stashed under her brother's bed; while the adults were breaking up the insuring fight I went into the kitchen snatched a steak knife and ran back to my room. I guess I'm lucky it was such a spur of the moment thing and I had no idea what I was doing, didn't have time to research or anything." At that Jack shot a sideways glance at Hiccup and the tiniest spark of shame flared in Hiccup for a second. "I took the knife and, well, did this." Jack gestured to the scar, probably about six inches long that started on the right of his chest and went down in a diagonal to end just above his abs on the left side. Hiccup looked at the thin white line with horror, the innocuous looking scar evidence of the pain Jack had been feeling back then, the brunette thought of his own arm, still tightly bandaged at the moment, thought about the then white lines that would likely adorn it as well. Hiccup was shaken from his thoughts by Jack's voice "Hurt like a bitch but I just bit down on a pillow and tried not to make any noise, I didn't want anyone to find me. I guess I passed out from the pain, or at least was to delirious to remember anything, and I woke up in a hospital bed with a little blond kid I'd seen at the house occasionally sitting next to my bed."

"…Sandy?" Hiccup asked quietly after a long moment, most of his brain still processing what Jack had just told him. Jack had really meant it when he said he understood how Hiccup felt and Hiccup had been to self-centered to even consider that anyone else could have possibly gone through the same thing he had. He'd shouted until Jack felt it necessary to relive these obviously painful memories…god he was such an ass!

"Yeah, Sandy." Jack said as he looked over at Hiccup with a genuine smile on his face. "I woke up and the nurse told me he was the one who'd saved me _and_ I promptly started shouting at him as loud as I could. I must have shouted at him for ten minutes without a break, and the whole time he just sat there smiling in this understanding way that just pissed me off more and more. When he wouldn't answer me I thought he was making fun of me somehow and that just made me shout more, finally I shouted myself into a coughing fit; he got up and left the room, I thought maybe he was tired of getting yelled at but he came back a minute later with a water bottle." Jack was smiling again now, a thin trail of dried tears leading down his cheeks and the odd feeling that had settled itself in Hiccup's chest the only evidence of his earlier distress. "After I stopped coughing Sandy pointed to his throat and shook his head but I didn't get it, dense as I was, he had to write _I am mute_ on a piece of paper before I finally got it. I learned one of Sandy's best qualities that day, he's an amazing listener. Not cause he can't interrupt either, because he can and will, usually by throwing the nearest object at your head-guy has amazing aim too. No, Sandy is such a good listener because he, heh, well, he doesn't judge. He's one of the most understanding people I've ever met. I started talking with him and…well everything kinda just came spilling out, he's got this way of getting you to say what's really on your mind…" Jack looked off into the distance as his voice trailed off.

"I ended up telling him everything, about my parents, about how guilty…how alone I felt." Jack's face had fallen to a more neutral expression, his eyes suddenly shining with unshed tears. "It felt good, and while I'm certainly no Sandy I've learned a little from him." Hiccup wanted to say something, wanted to ask Jack why he'd told him this, wanted to thank him, wanted to do more than stare blankly at the white haired boy that had just recounted a story so strikingly similar to his own it was eerie. Finally He managed to force a small smile in return, along with an o so elegant "uh…" Thankfully Jack saved him from having to respond with anything more my speaking again. "I guess I'm just saying, if you wanna talk with someone, well, I'm right here." Jack gestured to himself as he spoke, his smile shifting back toward its usual full self.

Hiccup was once again lost for words. There was a part of him that wanted to take Jack up on the offer, wanted desperately to just tell this person who he'd met less than a week ago about every nightmare that had tormented him for months now. He would have liked nothing better than to finally just talk to _someone_. He certainly wouldn't be talking to his dad about it, he could have spoken to Astrid but he wanted someone to listen, not pity him or suggest ways to make him 'better'. Hiccup wanted to tell Jack, but he couldn't. Telling Jack would involve telling his new friend about himself, and that wasn't something Hiccup was ready to talk about, even if Astrid had outed him already he still wasn't about to talk to Jack about that. His mind still at war with itself Hiccup said "Thank you Jack, that means a lot, and thank you for telling me all that…it couldn't have been easy."

Jack extricated the hand that Hiccup hadn't even realized he was still holding and waved in a dismissive manner, smiling brightly at Hiccup.

"So you said you got into a fight with Snotlout," Hiccup said, moving to change the subject "yet you don't look like you went up against someone his size."

Jack let out an amused laugh "I'd better not, Aster would kick my ass himself if I got beat after all the time he spent teaching me to fight."

Hiccup quirked his head to the side "Aster?"

Jack started for a moment, as though the question had caught him off guard "Yeah, he's my older brother."

"Oh, I thought you had said…" Hiccup trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. Thinking back to their previous conversations Hiccup realized that while they had spoken extensively about likes, dislikes, hobbies, and other personal details, both of them had completely avoided the topic of family, of course he could understand why now that he knew Jack's story.

"He's my adopted brother, my parents adopted him like a decade before they did me. They weren't planning on adopting again but I guess my mom heard about my story somehow and decided to meet me, and, well, you can guess how that went."

"Yes, clearly you tricked them somehow." Hiccup said, the playful tone returning to his voice. Jack raised his eyebrows and gave Hiccup a look before sticking his tongue out at the brunette. "So it's the two of you then, no other siblings?"

"Yeah, me and Aster, and mom and dad of course…oh and Aster's boyfriend."

Hiccup couldn't help starting at Jack's words, even as his heart sank a tiny bit, Jack had probably just been thinking about his brother when Astrid had outed him yesterday, not interested himself. "So your brother, he's, uh, gay, then?"

Jack shook his head "Bi, been with this guy for like four years now I think it's been…" Jack trialed off, a contemplative look on his face.

"Ah, that's, un, cool. So he thought you how to fight?"

"Yeah, Aster thought I should be able to defend myself after some kids at my old school started giving me crap for b-…for some stuff." Jack stopped himself mid-sentence and glanced sideways at Hiccup before continuing. _It's not what you're thinking_ Hiccup immediately told himself as that tiny spark of hole kindled itself one more in his chest, resisting his best efforts to smother it. At that point Jack seemed to realize he was still shirtless because he started, turning a little red-faced, and slid his hoodie back on; Hiccup had to suppress a disappointed sigh.

"So what's your family like?" Hiccup asked, feeling suddenly curious, before adding "I don't mean to be nosey, you don't have to answer...obviously."

"Nah, it's cool." Jack said before launching into a description of his family. From what Hiccup could gather the five of them lived outside of town in a "pretty big" house. Hiccup suspected Jack's parents were pretty well off though he seemed somewhat uncomfortable talking about their jobs. He spent the most time talking about Aster and all the 'shit we pulled when I was younger' several of the anecdotes had Hiccup nearly in tears with laughter, and a few made him wonder how Jack had actually survived to his current age. From there they moved on to other topics, falling back into the comfortable routine they'd developed over the last few days. They chatted idly, the serious mood of the morning forgotten in the pleasant conversation. It would have been nearly perfect were it not for the growing nagging voice (which bore an uncanny resemblance to that of a certain blond with boundary issues) in the back of Hiccup's mind trying to convince him to make some sort of move. That of course let to Hiccup double checking all his actions to be sure they were 'benevolent' which was starting to do a number on his nerves.

Things went on that same way until just after noon when, just as the two were debating what to do about lunch, the door opened and Astrid strode into the room, her eyes flicking between Jack and Hiccup. "The whole school is buzzing over your little incident Frost." She said with an impressed grin "I didn't know you had in in ya."

Jack groaned and covered his face with a hand "Greaaaaaat...just what I needed." Hiccup couldn't quite suppress a chuckle at Jack's distress. Looking back up at the two of them suddenly Jack said "What do you want to eat, I'll go get something."

"You don't have to; you're always getting the food." Hiccup said, surprised by Jack's abrupt demeanor and feeling a little guilty (and also not keen on the idea of alone time with Astrid at the moment, he had a unpleasant hunch he knew what she would want to talk about).

"It's cool, besides I've got to make a call." Jack stood, took both their orders and slipped out of the room, slipping his phone from his pocket as the door clicked closed behind him.

"So did you ask him out yet" Astrid said simply, wasting no time as she hoped up to sit cross legged on the table.

Hiccup threw his head back and let out a loud groan of exasperation. "Oh, not too bad actually, thanks for asking Astrid, how has _your_ day been so far?" Hiccup said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

"Pretty good I guess, classes went by fast, I got an A on my first Bio test…oh, and my best friend suddenly stopped texting me and then I show up to find the guy he likes here _again, _and he's wasting an opportunity _again_." Astrid replied, he voice far more airy and pleasant then was natural.

Hiccup sighed again as he lifted his head to glare at the all too smug blond sitting on his table "You just aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope." She said with a grin "I don't see why you're being so obstinate with this! I told you about last night, what more do you need?"

Hiccup's face darkened at her words, he'd forgotten about that "Oh yes, I'd forgotten about that." Astrid's face fell at Hiccup's serious tone. "I know you were trying to help, that's the only reason I'm still talking to you right now, but Astrid, you _outed_ me to Jack. I don't care what your reasons were, you crossed the line."

Astrid looked down for just a split second before meeting Hiccup's gaze "You're right, I did. I shouldn't have done that and I'm sorry Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded "Don't let it happen again."

An uncomfortable silence, something Hiccup was very unaccustomed to with Astrid, stretched between them for several minutes before Astrid, glancing at Hiccup out of the corner of her eye said "So did you ask him?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes even as a small smirk split his hard expression, shaking his head with an amused chuckle. "No, and I don't plan to. I'm perfectly content being friends with Jack right now and I don't intend on doing anything to mess that up so could you please let this go?"

Astrid looked at Hiccup for a long moment before sighing in resignation "Fine, I'll let it go. _For now._" Well that was the best Hiccup was likely to get, so he accepted it without complaint, now if only the Astrid voice in his head was so easy to silence.

"So Hiccup," Astrid said, her voice holding a joking tone "_How was your day?_"

_Hey dude _Jack tapped out on his phone as he walked, carful to mind where he was going and not run into anyone in the busy hallway.

It was a matter of seconds before the response came in _Oh! The elusive Jackson Frost has reappeared as last!_

_Ya, sry I've been quite man, I've been spending time with hiccup and just sorta got busy_

_Really Jack? Couldn't that have waited until the poor boy was out of the hospital at least? And what if a nurse had walked in? Have some dignity man! _Jack guffawed loudly at Sandy's joke even as a slight blush tainted his pale cheeks, drawing several incredulous looks from passersby. 

_-_- Totally not what I meant and you know it!_

_Yeah, but you pitched it right over the plate, I couldn't not swing._

_Fair enough_

_So how are things going with Hiccup?_

_Pretty good actually, he seems alright, haven't noticed anything worrying, no second attempt _

_That's good, I assume you've been spending time with him and that's why you're ignoring me?_

_Yeah…sorry about that, like I've said I've been kind of distracted. There's something about this guy Sandy..._

_What do you mean "something"?_

_I can't really explain it, like I want to get to know him and I feel like I already know him all at the same time. _

_That's an impressive contradiction there Jack. Why do you feel like you know him? What do you talk about?_

_…I told him about my parents…_

_…wow_

_Your telling me…I didn't plan it it just happened, I wanted him to know he wasn't as alone as he was feeling._

_So now what?_

_That's what I was hoping you could help with -_-_

_Well, you like him, yes?_

_Yes, that's pretty obvious at this point_

_Well the, does he share your "interests"_

_I don't know, his friend did use the word "boyfriend" when we were leaving the other day, but he hasn't mentioned anything and he doesn't seem interested, not that I can pick up on anyway._

_Oh yes, because any person interested in guys must by default be interested in you, I'd forgotten. _

_Not my fault I'm so damn sexy :P_

_And oh so humble_

_The humblest _

_So you asking him out, or are you just going to keep flirting with me?_

_Well, flirting with you never really got me anywhere_

_That because I'm way out of your league_

_Ouch_

_Truth hurts. Asking out Hiccup, yes or no?_

_I don't know! I want to…but I won't want to ruin the friendship with weirdness…_

_Just ask him Jack, we both know you're going to in the end, best do it before you agonize over it for a week don't you think?_

_And how do you know that? Last time I checked you weren't one of the voices in my head. _

_Oh please, we've been best friends for years, I could tell you what kind of pizza you're in the mood for right now. And if you do ever hear my voice in your head do tell me, I'd love to know what it sounds like._

_Ha-ha. _

_Seriously Jack, just ask him. I repeat, better before you spend a week freaking out over it. _

_…you are a bastard_

_There ya go, see that wasn't so hard now was it?_

_…why do I even bother arguing with you?_

_I don't know, we should have moved past that long ago, not my fault it never seems to stick with you._

_I guess I'm holding out hope someday I'll be right_

_You keep that hope alive Jack. So you asking him then?_

_…fine_

_Good boy, let me know how it goes_

_Of course_

_And Jack?_

_Yes?_

_Good luck :)_

Jack let out a sigh as he slipped his phone into his pocked, having finally made it to the front of the unfortunately long line at the cafeteria. Sandy was probably right in this situation, as he usually was…actually, Jack couldn't think of a single time his best friend had been wrong about situations like this…maybe he really should stop arguing with him? Well he could work that out later, right now he was faced with a very difficult decision, risk complete and total humiliation by asking out someone who in all likelihood probably wasn't even interested in his gender, or endure the inevitable stream of endless grief he'd catch from Sandy if he chickened out now…he wasn't sure which has a more daunting prospect.

"Hello sir, what can I get you?" The peppy voice of the young girl behind the counter jarred Jack from the argument currently going on inside his head.

"Uh…huh?" He said eloquently, his face scrunching as his brain tried to catch up with what was going on around him.

The girl smiled and stifled a little giggle behind nails painted a bright pink "What can I get you?"

"Oh, uh…" Jack had to think a moment before ordering food for Hiccup, Astrid, and himself, the girl hurrying to grab what he asked for and place each meal in its own plastic take away container.

"Alright," Said the cheery girl as she placed the take away containers into one large plastic bag "Is that it?"

Jack was about to say yes when something in the dessert section caught his eye and he smiled as he pointed at the little plastic container "One of those too," If he was going to do this, might as well stack the deck as much in his favor as he could right? "And two of those and that's it." He added as an afterthought. Still best not to be _too_ obvious.

Putting the final addition into the bag the girl went over to the cash register and entered Jack's order "That will be forty-six eighty-seven." Jack pulled his credit card from his wallet and swiped the plastic through the keypad, waiting for the little screen to say "approved" before replacing the card and grabbing the food. "Have a good day."

"You too." Jack said automatically, about to turn to leave when she continued.

"I'm sure your friend will be fine, the doctors here are really good." She said with a smile.

Jack stared at her dumbly for a moment before looking at her with suspicion "How..what?"

"Well something seemed to be bothering you, and this is a hospital so I just kinda assumed." She said with a faint blush which made Jack think of a certain someone…yeah, Sandy was probably right about this one too.

"Ah, well then thanks." Jack said, returning the smile before turning to head back to Hiccup's room, feeling kind of like he was climbing the high dive, the only question now was would he have the guts to jump?

"You get lost?" Hiccup said in a joking tone when Jack walked into the room holding a large bag of food.

"Is that the thanks I get for walking halfway across the building and waiting in a ginormous line to get you food?"

"Did you just say ginormous?"

"Hmf! No appreciation!" Jack said dramatically he turned on his heel, putting his back to Hiccup and handed Astrid a plastic container that opened to reveal a large helping of lasagna.

"I beg your pardon good sir, you have my most heartfelt thanks." Hiccup, his own voice dropping to a lower octave as he spoke.

"Now that's more like it." Jack said, striding over to hand Hiccup his own meal which turned out to be a rather poor attempt at steak and a baked potato, but Hiccup was hungry and it was food. None of them spoke much while devoured their meals in the typical teenaged fashion-quickly. As Hiccup finished his last bite he leaned back against his pillows and gave a contented sigh.

"Well, I can't say it was particularly good, but it sure hit the spot."

"Hope you saved a little room." Jack said with that increasingly familiar pleased grin.

"For what?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"Dessert of course!" Jack all but sang as he reached into the bag and pulled out a small plastic bowl and two paper wrapped squares that were obviously popsicles. Hiccup had expected Jack to toss him a popsicle, assuming that he'd purchased whatever was in the bowl for himself; he was surprised then when Jack walked over and placed the bowl on his lap along with a spoon before tossing one of the popsicles to Astrid who caught it deftly. Hiccup took the container and cautiously opened it, a lopsided smile lifting the corners of his mouth as the lid popped off.

"Chocolate mousse?"

"You did say it was your favorite didn't you?" Jack said, the smallest hint of worry creeping into his voice as he spoke.

"That I did." Hiccup said, still slightly disbelieving. He was incredibly thankful that Jack was looking at him, and therefore unable to see the _excessively_ pointed look Astrid was giving over his shoulder. So Jack had remembered and bought him his favorite dessert, that didn't mean anything, there were plenty of other completely innocent explanations for Jack's behavior! Not wanting to just sit there and stare at the dessert like an idiot Hiccup grabbed the spoon, took a big bite of the mousse, and did everything within his power not to gag. He wasn't quite sure how someone messed up chocolate, but somehow the kitchen here had managed it. Jack's smile brightened, apparently having confused Hiccup's widening eyes for enjoyment, which left Hiccup in the unfortunate position of either souring the nice gesture by spitting it out, or stomaching the remainder of the sludge. Unable to bring himself to spoil the bright smile on Jack's face Hiccup forced a smile as he finished the rest of the mercifully small cup in three bites.

"Thanks," Hiccup said with what he hoped was an appreciative smile. "You shouldn't have."

"My pleasure, glad you liked it." Jack said, returning the smile as he worked on his own dessert with gusto and, really, there should be rules on the proper way to eat a popsicle in public because the way Jack was doing it was just plain indecent! Hiccup looked away from Jack as a faint blush started to creep into his cheeks, a decision he immediately regretted as his eye met Astrid's who promptly jerked her head toward Jack and raised her eyebrows suggestively which only served to deepen Hiccup's blush.

"So Jack," Astrid said suddenly, her voice far too cheery for Hiccup's likening "I guess were now members of the same club."

Jack cocked his head and looked at her, distracting him from his Popsicle, thank the heavens, and asked "Uh…what?"

"Yeah, the 'People who have decked Snotlout' club, I can't imagine it's a very exclusive club though, what with a personality like his." Hiccup relaxed and muffled a laugh in his hand at Astrid's comment, apparently she was actually going to honor his request and drop the whole 'him asking Jack out thing.'

"Oh?" Jack asked with a laugh "You've punched him too? What did he do to get on your bad side?"

"He kept asking me out, which was fine, I just said no, but he didn't get it apparently because he kept on trying to make date plans like I'd said yes. Finally after about a week I snapped and decked him in the parking lot after school."

"Wow, remind me not to annoy you. I'm betting he didn't try and sue _you_ huh?"

"Will do, and of course not, I don't think anybody outside this room but him even know about it, not exactly the kind of thing he'd want to spread around."

"I'll bet." Jack said, his signature grin on his face as he bounced over to his chair and flopped down with a stretch and a content sigh.

Hiccup was just about to ask Jack what he'd meant by Snotlout not suing Astrid when Astrid spoke up again "So what about you Jack, ever have anyone just not get you weren't interested? Course looking the way you do you must be fighting the more shallow ones of with a stich huh?" Jack started and looked at Astrid, Hiccup stiffened and glared at her, so much for dropping it…

"Oh, uh, well, I mean not really that much no. There were a few sure, but I-uh, wasn't really interested…" Jack said as he ran his hand through the back of his hair, clearly embarrassed at Astrid's intrusive question.

"_Is that so?_" Astrid said, not even bothering to try and hide the pointed look she aimed at Hiccup who sat there glaring at her, having concluded that, unfortunately, leaping from his bead and stabbing Astrid with her leftover lunch spork would indeed raise to many questions at the present. Several rather awkward heartbeats passed, Hiccup glaring at Astrid, Astrid looking pleasantly at Jack, and Jack looking anywhere but the two of them.

Hiccup didn't think he'd ever been more grateful to see anyone in his entire life then the moment his door opened and a short nurse with long black hair entered the room, the florescent light threw her face into sharp relief as she surveyed the room, giving a clearly disapproving look at the scattered remains of their lunch. Putting on a falsely sweet smile she walked over to Hiccup and started undoing the bandages on his right arm. "How are you feeling today sweetie?" she asked, her voice far too cheery for the situation.

"Fine." Hiccup responded blandly, averting his eyes as the nurse removed the last of his bandages to reveal the long line of stitches that adorned his arm.

"Have you needed to use the morphine over much?" She asked in the same sickly sweet voice as she smeared some clear cream over the wound before pulling a roll of fresh bandages from a pocket somewhere.

"No, it doesn't hurt that much anymore."

"Good, good. It appears to be healing well, as long as you take care and don't break the stitches I don't think it will scar to badly." She was rapping his arm back up now, binding the bandages tightly around Hiccup's thin arm before securing them in place. "There, well sweetie, you're healing very well. As long as nothing comes up tonight I think you should be fine to head home tomorrow."

"Really?" Hiccup said, unable to mask the excitement in his voice "Yes I believe so, a doctor will have to take a look later tonight for the final say, and someone will have to teach you how to properly care for the injury of course. If the doctor gives the OK we'll contact your legal guardian and they can come sign you out tomorrow."

"Alright, thank you."

"Of course sweetie, keep it up." She said, patting Hiccup on the cheek before turning to leave "Do clean up after yourselves." She said without looking at Jack or Astrid and closed the door behind her.

"So you'll be a free man tomorrow!" Jack exclaimed as soon as the door clicked shut, all awkwardness forgotten in light of Hiccup's upcoming liberation.

"Hopefully, but I'll probably be stuck here most of the day still since my dad won't be able to sign me out till he gets off work in the evening."

"Well, I'm still suspended, I don't see why I couldn't come keep you company till he pays your bail."

"When did I get arrested? Not really the thing I'd expect I'd be able to forget."

"That _is_ some serious memory loss man, maybe you shouldn't be leaving this place after all huh?"

"I think you've just driven me insane."

"In less than a week? Wow that's a new record for me, I should get myself one of those little trophies to celebrate." Hiccup let out a snort, unable to keep his composure any longer, Jack joining in a moment later; Hiccup's laughter was cut short as he met Astrid's incredibly pointed gaze, her eyebrows completely invisible behind her bangs as she jerked her head toward Jack and mouthed 'ask him.' Anger flared briefly in Hiccup, followed by another, less familiar feeling, the Astrid in his head that had been bothering him all day combining with the one sitting in front of him pushed him over some previously unknown edge in his mind and he spoke before he lost his nerve.

"So, uh Jack," alright Hiccup, you can do this, just say calm, "would you want to, uh, after I get out of here that is, uh," now just say is, just ask him out and get it over with "hang out some time?"…you fucking coward.

"Sure! –er, Yeah, I'd like that" Jack said, the sincerity in his voice and smile was almost enough the counter Hiccup's anger with himself. "Here, let me give you my number so we can talk once you're out." Jack said, holding his hand out for Hiccup's phone. Well, at least he was getting Jack's number, that counted for something right?. Hiccup handed Jack his phone and accepted Jack's much fancier phone when it was offered, entering his own number into it. "There, now I can make sure you don't regain your sanity while you're away from me." Jack grinned as he returned Hiccup's phone and took his own back. Hiccup scrolled through his contacts, a task that didn't take very long, to find that Jack had entered his name 'Jack :)' and number.

From there the conversation turned to Hiccup's plans for when he got home, and general weekend plans from there (none of them had anything really going on), and somehow morphed into vacations, favorite places on the planet, places they wanted to visit and more as the day slipped by with idol conversation, Hiccup only slightly angry with himself now thought at least Astrid was apparently content to let him by with the attempt for today. During that time a doctor came in and cleared Hiccup to leave and the same too happy nurse from earlier reappeared to show him how to do his own bandages and care for his enjoy in general; Hiccup didn't want to look at wound but he was left little choice as the nurse insisted on seeing him do it correctly before letting him go.

When visiting hours finally ended Hiccup sat there, feeling the new though not entirely unexpected twinge as Jack leaned against the door, preparing to leave. Hiccup was going to open his mouth to offer a farewell, but a strange look came over Jack's face, making him hesitate; his expression looked strained, and more than a little nervous, as he looked at Hiccup, shooting a smile the brunette and bringing up a hand to rub the back of his neck. They held the slightly awkward silence for a moment longer before Jack, looking suddenly determined, took a step toward Hiccup and spoke. "Since you're getting out of here tomorrow, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go see a movie…with me?" Jack's face was more than a little red as he looked up at Hiccup shyly.

Hiccup's jaw dropped in shock as he stared at Jack "Are you asking me out?" he asked, his tone all kinds of disbelieving.

"Uh, ya, I mean if you want to that is." Jack said, his expression turning hopeful.

Well then, that was certainly something right there wasn't it? All his worries and self-anger from earlier seemed not only pointless but incredibly silly. A feeling a giddiness suddenly swept through Hiccup and he started laughing, which, in retrospect, probably wasn't the right reaction given the circumstances. His face going bright red Jack turned on his heel and fled the room. Well shit. Working hard to pull himself together Hiccup glanced at Astrid who said "Well, that could have been handled better on your part."

"Please go bring him back." Hiccup said, suppressing another fit of giddy laughter.

A rather smug smile on her face Astrid got off the table she'd been sitting on and went after Jack, returning several long moments later leading, no, _dragging_ Jack by the back of his hoodie, the pale teen's arms crossed over his chest as he heels drug along the ground, his face turned away refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Astrid deposited him unceremoniously at Hiccup's bedside where he promptly looked anywhere but Hiccup.

Taking a deep breath to keep his composure and calm his nerves Hiccup said "You know its polite to look at someone when you talk to them."

"Oh, and it's polite to laugh at someone when they…you know!" Jack snapped back defensively, his face still rather red.

"I wasn't laughing at you, idiot, I was laughing because…because I've been trying to get the courage to ask _you_ out all day." The dumbfounded look on Jack's face slowly, shifted to a cautious grin.

"Are you saying…" Jack said slowly

"That I'll go see a movie with you? Yes, under one condition."

"What's that?"

"I get to pick the movie." Hiccup said, has face braking into a broad grin at the same time Jack's did.

"Deal."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Of course, we can work out the details when I get here."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Feel better Hiccup." Jack said, leaning down once more to give Hiccup a quick (though not quite as quick as the previous night) hug before turning to head toward the door. "Night Hiccup."

"Bye Jack." Hiccup said, giving a little wave. As the door closed behind Jack Hiccup let out a huge breath, his entire body relaxed and he fell back into his pillows. That was every bit as terrifying as he had feared it would be, even if it had ended better then he'd dared hope.

"Well, I gotta say, you were a lot calmer then I'd have thought you'd be." Astrid said from her perch on the table, the smuggest look Hiccup had ever seen on her face.

"Wait did I just do something? I think I blacked out there for a second."

Astrid chuckled at Hiccup's antics before smirking in a very self-satisfied way "I told you so." She said as she stood and walked over to Hiccup

"Yeah yeah, whatever…" he said, his mouth still stretched into a wide grin.

Leaning down to give him a quick hug goodbye she said "I'm happy for you Hiccup, I hope everything goes well."

"Thanks Astrid." He said, hugging her back.

"Have a good night Hiccup." She said as she headed out the door.

"You too!" He called after her as she left, leaving him to sit there grinning and replaying what had just happened over and over. There was a part of him that still couldn't believe it. He, Hiccup Haddock, quite possibly the most socially awkward kid on the planet, had a date with the single most amazing guy he'd ever met! Had you told him earlier that day that he would be spending the night thinking about the upcoming date, which _he_ had been _asked _on, with Jack Frost, well, he would have said you were crazy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow this took forever to get out! -_- Sry for that, life has been throwing a lot for me to deal with lately and I've been rather busy but most of that is out of the way now so yay for that! School is starting back up so I can't predict how my release schedule will be but I'm hoping it won't be any worse then its been (cause dear god that would just suck!) and it may even improve! T wanna say thanks for everyone who's reviewed this story and given me your feedback ^^ It means the world to me so thank you so much for those! Alright I'm done rambling now, on to the chapter!**

The door had barley clicked shut behind Jack before he let out a delighted laugh, his face splitting into a grin so bright and broad that it put the Orbitz lady to shame. Pulling his phone from his pocket, Jack started for the doors to the street where Aster would be waiting to pick him up with more then a little spring in his step as he went. Typing quickly he sent a text to Sandy _Well, I told him... :/_

_Oh please, don't pretend he said no._

_How the hell do you do that?_

_I don't do anything, you're the one who's so predictable_

…

_So you asked him out and he said yes then, when's the date?_

_Tomorrow_

_Wasting no time I see_

_Why wait, besides he gets out of the hospital tomorrow so it's kind of like a celebration thing._

_So where you taking him?_

_Not entirely sure, we said movie but were going to actually plan it out tomorrow._

_Movie? You're bringing him over then?_

_Introduce you to him on our first date? I don't think so, its bad enough I'll probably end up having to get a ride from Aster..._

_Jack you wound me, I'd never say anything bad about you to your date!_

_...you think you're funny don't you?_

_I've been told I can occasionally be amusing._

_...maybe...IF you promise to behave._

_...you are no fun sometimes _

_Yes, pardon me for not wanting to have to worry about other people embarrassing me the first time I see the guy when he's not hooked up to an IV!_

_I would never embarrass you Jack! That's you're job and you do quite well without my help._

…_..._

_Oh don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine tomorrow, let me know if you need anything alright?_

_Yeah yeah, thanks man_

_Of course, and I am happy for you Jack, hope everything goes well!_

_Thanks, Aster just pulled up and I'm sure he's going to be grilling me all the way home. I'll text you later_.

Jack slipped his phone into his pocket as Aster's Jeep pulled up to the curb outside the hospital, its horn sounding an unnecessary double tap as Jack walked around to the passenger door.

"S'how was yer day Jackie?" Aster asked as Jack hopped into the set and buckled up.

"Great." Jack said earnestly as he leaned back into the seat, a broad grin spreading across his face as his mind went back to his day, more specifically the last few minutes.

Aster looked at Jack suspiciously for a moment before shifting the Jeep into drive and pulling away from the curb, turning toward their house. Several minutes passed in silence before Aster said, quit conversationally "So I take it 'e said yes then?"

Jack blinked looking from the window he'd been staring out of toward his brother "How the hell...?"

"Oh come on Jackie, there'r only two things that get a bloke smile'n like that, and since I doubt the kid was in any shape fer the first I assume ya got yerself a date."

Jack blinked again, his cheeks flushed a light red, Aster's comment sending his mind down a particular path before he could reign it in. Knowing it would be useless to try and deny it Jack nodded "Alright yeah, he said yes." He couldn't quite stop the last bit from coming out like an exultation, his mouth curving into another smile.

"Good on ya Jackie," Aster said with a grin "So when's the big day?"

"You make it sound like we're getting married."

"One step at a time Jackie." Aster said with a wink.

Jack rolled his eyes "Were going out tomorrow, he gets released from the hospital tomorrow so it's kinda a combination date celebration thing."

"Watcha plannin?"

"We're going to see a movie, figured I'd keep it simple for a first date."

"Oh Jack," Aster shook his head in mock disappointment "no originality, I thought I taught you better."

"If I used what you taught me he'd probably have called the cops."

"Hardy har har. Alright so movie, anythin else?"

"I'm debating on bringing him to Sweet Dreams after for a treat." Jack said after a moment's hesitation, he watched Aster's reaction from the corner of his eyes.

"Not a bad idea, make it a little less generic 'n introduce 'im to Sandy at the same time."

"Yeah, just not sure if I want to risk him meeting any of the psychos in my life just yet." Jack said, his voice mostly kidding.

"Well 'es gonna be meetn' me, how much worse can it get from that?" Aster said with a chuckle that Jack found very unnerving.

"Please don't scare him away, I really like him." Jack asked, his voice light but his gaze serious as he looked at his adoptive brother.

"Don't worry Jackie, 'm just messn' with ya." Aster said with a lighthearted chuckle before smiling at Jack "I really am happy fer yeah Jack, I'd never tryn' mess it up fer ya."

"I know," Jack said with a slightly abashed smile "and thanks." He playfully punched Aster on the shoulder which Aster reciprocated slightly harder than was really necessary. "And if you could not mention this to mom or dad tonight that would be great, I'm really tired and I'd like to just get to sleep when we get home and not answer millions of questions."

"Heh, you got it Jackie." Aster said as he slowed to a stop outside the gatehouse, waving to Phil, and headed up the driveway when the gate opened. "And remember, if ya ever need anythin' just ask." Aster said, giving Jack a genuine smile as he pulled the car into the garage and threw it in park. "Whats wrong?" He asked when he noticed the calculating look Jack was giving him.

"I'm trying to decide if that was meant to be dirty or not." Jack answered with a falsely shrewd look.

"Its whatever you want it to be Jackie." Aster said with a chuckle as he got out of the car and headed to the house. Jack sat in his seat for a moment longer, once again thinking back on the day and he laughed happily as he opened the door, eager to get some rest and even more eager for tomorrow to by his own deep blue Anandi, Jack let out a wistful sigh, the keys to which he knew were hidden away somewhere ns his mom's office for now another month and three days. Jack took another moment to lament how very close he had been to finally getting his car back before heading in the house. When he entered the kitchen, kicking his shoes off at the door and tossing them into the nearby closet, he found the room suspiciously crowded. His mother was sitting at the counter chatting animatedly at Pitch, who supplied an occasional 'hmmm' or 'of course', his arms elbow deep in soapy water. From the smell of it he'd made steaks and potatoes for dinner which Jack was disappointed he'd missed, especially after the hospital food. A booming laugh from the table told Jack Nick was probably still finishing his meal.

"Welcome home sweetie." Anna said as Jack walked into the room, swiveling on the stool to face him. "How was your day?"

"It was good, they're releasing Hiccup tomorrow." Jack said, walking over and giving her a quick hug.

"Oh that's wonderful, he's feeling better then?"

"Yeah, he's healing well, and it seems like he's doing better too." Jack said. Throwing his arms rather theatrically he yawned "I'm feeling really tired though, think I'm going to bed early tonight." Jack turned toward the door to the hallway, stopping to give Nick who was indeed finishing his meal a one armed hug goodnight.

"Alright Jack, goodnight then." Anna said, looking a little surprised considering Jack was usually the type to be up until the wee hours of the morning. "Oh! I almost forgot to ask, do you have any plans for tomorrow Jack?"

Jack stopped, about to turn the doorknob, and tried to word his response so it wasn't actually a lie, but before he could come up with the proper wording Aster, who was now hovering near Pitch, spoke up "Oh, I'd say so! Little Jackie got himself a date!" Jack's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth as he turned to glare at his older brother. Aster just gave him a grin and mouthed something that looked a lot like 'top drawer' before turning to pull some leftovers out of the fridge. Jack only had a moment to glare at him however before his attention was dominated by his mother who had spun around in her stool at Aster's words, swinging around to face Jack like the needle of a compass.

Jack jumped slightly as Nick's voice boomed out from the table, slightly garbled by his mouth full of potato "HA-AH! That'a boy Jack! Is about time to eh?"

"Hey!" Jack said indigently, so what if he'd not been very active on the dating scene, that was his business!

"Oh give him a break dear, it's not been that long." Anna cut in before Jack could say anything else.

"Not that long? I was starting to think we would have grandchildren before Jack had boyfriend!"

"Oh don't be ridiculous dear."

"Yeah dad, ya know Pitch hates kids."

"I do not hate children, I merely find the behavior of most of the ones I come across to be deplorable. No respect for people or their property."

Taking advantage of the sudden influx of conversation to ease open the door to the hallway Jack was a full two thirds home free when his mom's voice cut over the clamor "So Jack, when are you going on this date? And who with?"

Jack signed. So much for slipping past his parents and heading to bed, there was no way his mom was going to let him go without details now. "Hiccup is getting out of the hospital tomorrow and we are going to go see a movie together."

Jack wasn't sure how exactly he had expected his mom to react, but he certainly hadn't seen the look of disappointment coming. "Really Jack? A movie, is that really the best you can do?"

"Tha's what I said!" Aster interjected, as he attempted to snatch his plate back from Pitch who was putting two of the five stakes he'd grabbed back into the fridge.

"Yes Jack! If you want this boy to come back for second date you have to wow him! Like," Nick made a whistling sound between his teeth and brought clenched fists up before making a popping sound with his lips and throwing his fingers open, all in all in was a passable imitation of a firework. "Movie is more like." Nick waved one finger through the air halfheartedly while making a buzzing sound, tracing a couple weak circles in the air before letting his hand fall out of sight. "You see?"

"I'm taking him to Sweet Dreams after the movie." Jack said defensively.

"That's not a bad idea, then you can bring him by the house after." Anna said genuinely.

Jack looked at his mother dumbly "D-do wh-what now?" Jack stammered, still caught on the rather horrifying idea of Hiccup meeting the jumble of clashing personalities that passed for his family. Don't get him wrong, Jack loved his family, but at times they could be a little...intense? Yeah, intense was an accurate and non-insulting enough way to describe the near absolute insanity that was probably ensuing in his house at any given time. Jack planned to spare Hiccup that as long as possible, that is of course if tomorrow went well and they both decided to see each other again which he fervently hoped happened, and he probably had a better chance if he eased hiccup into his family.

"Well we do get to meet him?" Anna half said half asked.

"Not tomorrow! Its our first date, I don't even know if there will be a second, plus don't you think taking him to meet the family on the first date seems kinda...rushing things?"

"Oh but you'll introduce him to Sandy?" His mother said, slouching down in her chair and pouting, actually pouting, like a small child denied a second helping of dessert.

"I promise I will let him meet you at some point in the future of my choosing that my or my not be soon but probably will not be." Jack said with a look that clearly said 'that's the best you're gonna get'.

Staring at him for a long moment Anna finally gave in with a sigh "Fine, you can hide your date for now. So will you need a ridetomorrow?"

"Oh, uh, I'm not sure actually. We were going to make the actual plans tomorrow so maybe?"

"Alright let me know and I'll get someone to drive you."

"I'll give ya a ride if ya need one Jack." Aster offered from the seat he'd taken at the table next to Nick

"...thanks." jack said cautiously, giving Aster a suspicious look.

"Good, glad that's settled. You have a good time tomorrow and we'll see you in the morning dear." Anna said.

"Night." Jack called over his shoulder, casually fleeing the room before anyone else could comment on tomorrow. Feeling too tired for the stairs Jack took the elevator to the top of the tower and threw himself down the tube that led to his room, popping out near his door. His room was large, like most of the house, a gigantic flat screen TV took up the wall opposite the king sized bed. The wall opposite Jack was covered in posters of various bands and artists, a large sound system took up on corner along with the door to a walk in closet. The last wall had the tube entrance as well as the door to the houses main hallway and Jack's desk, a small pile of school work sitting next to his computer accusingly. The floor was mostly clear save a couple beanbags and a few days worth of cloths he had yet to bring to the laundry shoot.

As Jack hopped off the lip of the tube and stood up straight a little chirping ball of bright green and purple dove at him from a ceiling. "Hey there Baby." Jack said happily to the small bird now perched on his shoulder, nibbling at the pull-string of his hoodie, "Don't you want to ask me about my date tomorrow too?" The small bird ruffled its feathers, the bright green reminding him of a certain someone. "Well his name is Hiccup and, well he's kinda a dork but in the good way, and he's funny, and he's got the cutest freckles, and his eyes are this gorgeous green and-ouch!" Jack exclaimed as the bird nipped at his exposed ear, ruffling its feathers unhappily "Oh don't worry your green is still prettier." Jack chuckled flopping down onto his bed, the bird fluttering to a perch on his bedside table before hopping to a small nest and settling in. "Goodnight Baby, see you in the morning." Jack gave a quick whistle, the lights in the room winking out as he did so, and curled under his blankets, pulling his pants and hoddie off and tossing them on the floor to join the rest of this weeks discarded clothing. He plugged his phone in to the charger and was about to set it on the nightstand when he had an idea; Jack grinned to himself and he slid the phones unlock bar and started scrolling through his contacts.

The rest of the night passed with a surprising swiftness after Jack and Astrid left. Hiccup called a nurse to bring something to eat around dinner time and spoke with his father on the phone briefly, he was unable to visit as he usually did because he was taking an extra shift at the factory, to Hiccup's somewhat guilty relief, though he doubted if even twenty minutes of awkward silence with his father could ruin the almost giddy mood that had settled over him. He was just about to lay down and try to sleep, the nurses having already turned his lights out, when a buzzing sound emanated from somewhere in his sheets. It took him a minute to locate the old flip phone within the folds of his blankets but eventually he found it about to fall over the edge of the bed. Hiccup flipped it open to find he had one new message from 'Jack :)' a smile started creeping across his face as he hit the accept button. _Hey, just wanted to say goodnight and I'm looking forward to tomorrow:)_ Hiccup was profoundly glad nobody else was around because he could only imagine how stupid he looked with the huge grin stretching across his face. Hitting the reply button Hiccup tapped out a response T_hanks, I can't wait for tomorrow either like I can't stop grinning, is that weird?_ Hiccup looked at the text and frowned. "Yes, yes it is weird" he decided and held down the delete button until the offending message was gone. _Thanks, goodnight._ "Wow Hiccup, might as well not even send a text at that point." Once again delete the miniscule response Hiccup tried again. _Thanks for the text, it got me grinning like an idiot because I think you're really awesome not to mention very attractive and I can't imagine why you want to see a movie with me but I really hope tomorrow goes well because I really like you._ Hiccup stared at the text thoughtfuly "Its missing something...ah!" _Will you marry me?_ "There, the perfect mixture of desperate and crazy..." Hiccup burred his face in his hands in exasperation "Why is this so hard, like, it should not be this hard to write a text." Hiccup closed his phone with a self deprecating laugh and thought for a moment before flipping it open again and trying one last time _Thank you :) me too._ And quickly hit send before he could find something wrong with this one.

Hiccup settled more comfortably into his sheets and tucked his phone under his pillow, withdrawing it a moment letter as it bussed again. _:) I'll text when I'm heading over tomorrow then, make sure you're awake and decent ;P_ Hiccup couldn't help the blush that colored his cheeks as he read Jack's text, even as a small laugh escaped his lips. _Alright, see you tomorrow Jack._ Once again settling in Hiccup was less surprised when his phone buzzed again _Cant wait :)_ Smiling to himself Hiccup tucked his phone away for a third time and after several minutes of silence he was snoring quietly.


End file.
